


Dex x Reader : Sugar Crush

by SidneyDR



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2019-11-21 17:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 46,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18144941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SidneyDR/pseuds/SidneyDR
Summary: Reader moves into the same building as one Agent Poindexter. A bond starts to grow between them. Can the reader move on after a traumatic past ‘relationship’ ?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of physical and emotional abuse ! YES this one will come with trigger warnings. I tried not to post too much into detail stuff but this entire thing comes with a trigger warning !

Baking. That is what you loved to do most to cheer yourself up

It had been two days since you moved into your new apartment, you had said hello to most of your neighbours by now. You were making pancakes so you could suprise your neighbours with them, a way to make a good impression.

You walked over to your fridge and took the milk and eggs out before you closed the fridge door again.

Placing a bowl on the kitchen counter before you started to measure the flour you would need.

Suddenly the bowl moved a bit to the side and as you went to grab it, your hand brushed against one of the eggs close by, making it drop to the floor.

You stared at the mess it had caused on the floor in disbelieve for a second before you closed your eyes and cursed.

You grabbed some paper towels and started to clean up the mess. When you stood up a stinging feeling went through your eye.

Two months, that’s how long it has been since you last saw you ex-boyfriend. You felt the skin around your eye with your fingers, the swelling had subsided but the pain remained as the cut under your eye was still healing.

The last conversation you two had ended with him hitting you again, leaving you a with a black eye and a nasty cut under your eye. You knew you had to get out of there, away from him.

You threw the used paper towels in the garbage before you went over to the fridge to get another egg. When you opened it you realised there were no more left.

You closed the fridgedoor and resisted the urge to bang your head against it.

Great, and the store was already closed at this hour. You sighed and put on your shoes and a pair of sunglasses, perhaps your friendly neighbour would have an egg to spare for you ? You wore the sunglasses to hide the remaining bruises around your eye. The black eye might be gone but there was no mistaking that the bruises and the cuts were caused by being hit by someone.

You stepped out of your apartment and made your way down the hall before you knocked on the door of Mr. Wilkinson. It took a while before he opened the door, probably because he had some trouble walking because of his age.

He opened the door and you smiled at him sweetly “Hi, Mr. Wilkinson !” you said cheery.

He waved at the mention of his full name “Oh, please just call me Bob.”

You gave a quick nod “Sure, Bob. Look uhm.. I was baking something-”

“Oh! My wife loved to bake, bless her heart. But she wasn’t very good at it.” he winked at you and you laughed. “Sorry, you were saying?”

“Oh, yes. So I was baking, but then one of the eggs I needed fell and then I saw that I don’t have any more eggs left. I was wondering if you could spare me an egg ? I will pay for it or give you a whole box of them tomorrow.”

He looked at you with an apologetic expression “I’m sorry dear. I don’t have any eggs left either.”

“Oh, that’s okay Mr.Wilk- Bob. I guess I’ll just go and ask the other neighbours downstairs.” you shrugged.

He stopped you before you walked away “The Smith’s downstairs aren’t home tonight, I’m afraid. But the guy on the floor above is. I saw him come home a while ago.” he tells you.

“I see. I haven’t actually met him yet..”

“Then consider this a good reason to meet him.” he smiled at you as he closed the door.

You pondered the thought for a moment, meeting new people was still hard for you even now. While you and your ex were together he had managed to isolate you from your friends, and when you moved in, there was no one here that you could ask for help. It was the fourth time you had moved in those two months. Whenever you felt like you were no longer safe somewhere, you left. You should have left the city, hell, you should have left the country but you were not able to do that. He would know. You walked up the stairs to the next floor and looked around, not having been on this floor before yet. You walked to the door and hesitated before knocking.

Your ex had sure made you wary of all the evil the world has to offer.

You collected yourself and knocked, how bad could it be? You heard a chair move inside the apartment and soon after that the door was opened a bit.

Your eyes were met with striking ones, you didn’t expect the neighbour on the floor above yours to be so handsome.

“Uhm.. hi.” you were at a loss for words for a moment before you shook your head “I’m (y/n) (l/n). I moved into the building two days ago. I believe we haven’t met yet ?” you knew you hadn’t, you most certainly would have remembered if you had. You reached out your hand.

He nodded “Uh..Yeah.. We haven’t.” he looked at your hand for a moment before he took it in his and shook it quickly “Poindexter.” he introduced himself.

“I know this might be a weird thing to ask considering we literally just met, but can you miss an egg ?” you blurted.

He looked at you with a raised brow. Great, the hot guy in the building probably thinks you’re insane now. “I mean, I was busy making some pancakes but then I accidentally dropped one of the eggs and the stores are closed so I thought ‘hey! Let’s ask my new neighbours’.” you gave him your sweetest smile hoping he wouldn’t shut the door in your face. “Oh, and I forgot to say please… so please ?”

You were kicking yourself mentally at this point.

A feeling of relief washed over you when you saw him half-smile “Alright, wait here. I’ll check if my chicken has done their job today.”

“I thought they didn’t allow pets here ?” you obliviously asked. He turned back to you for a moment and then it hit you “Oh, that… you were joking..”

The small smile now turned wider on his face and he let out a chuckle “Yeah.”

He shut the door and you waited, you were a blabbering mess now. You rubbed your neck and groaned.

A few seconds later he opened the door again “You’re in luck.” he says as he holds out an egg for you.

You stepped forward and carefully took the egg from his hand “Thank you so much. You just saved my pancakes. I owe you one, Mr. Poindexter.”

“You’re welcome and.. call me Dex. Please.” he crossed his arms.

“Okay. I owe you one, Dex.” you held up the egg, quickly lowering your hand again when you figured how odd it must look “I uhm… Should get back to baking then.”.

He was looking at you with interest and it made you even more nervous, as if he was following your every move.

“Bye.” you waved and quickly turned around to head back to your own apartment, considering yourself lucky you didn’t trip over your own feet as well.


	2. The Pancake Meeting

You breathed in when you shut the door of your apartment. Almost crushing the egg you were holding, you quickly put the egg in a safe spot on the counter.

Thanks to the help of your friendly neighbour, you could now start working on the pancakes.

You took of your sunglasses and started working on making those pancakes.

It took you a bit more then an hour to finish making them all. You made enough for your neighbours and for yourself. You wanted to bring some of them up to the floor above you to thank Dex for the egg.

But first you changed out of your flour and milk stained shirt and putted on a sweater and took your sunglasses.

You grabbed the plate with pancakes and made your way up to Dex’s apartment.

You hoped he would still be awake, it’s wasn’t late yet but you knew some people had jobs that required them to start very early. You banished the thoughts and doubts and knocked on his door.

The door opened and he looked at you a bit suprised.

“Hi, don’t worry I’m not here to claim another egg. I just wanted to give you these as a thank you for helping me out.” you held out the plate with pancakes to him.

“I should give you an egg more often.” he smirks as he takes the plate from your hands.

“Perhaps I should break one more often.” you blurted out and immediately regreted it. “ I mean..it’s obviously a good way to meet new people, not that I like going to other people to take all their eggs like some weirdo…” you fell silent and looked at your feet “Sorry.. as you might be able to tell, I’m not good with making small talk.”

“Really ? I couldn’t tell.” his voice was sarcastic. He cleared his throat “Hey, uhm. You want something to drink ?” he was the one who looked nervous now as if he was suprised he even asked. He tried to make it sound casual but it appears that he was as nervous with these kind of things as you were.

“Sure, why not.” you shrugged and smiled at him. He held the door open for you to walk in and closed it once you were inside. His apartment was spotless, the contrast with your own place could not be bigger. He made his way over to his fridge and put the pancakes inside and you stood there a bit awkwardly.

“Feel free to take a seat if you want to.” He suddenly said.

“Oh, thank you. I’ll just..” you pulled back a chair from the table and sat down.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t really have that many choices when it comes to beverages.” he finally says.

It made you smile, it was clear now that him inviting you inside was a spur of the moment.

“I’m happy with just water, Dex.” you told him and it made him look at you.

Hell, you would drink air if he invited you to.

“How about soda ?”

“Soda is fine.” You said a bit too quickly.

He took a can of soda and poured out some in a glass before he handed it to you.

You uttered a thanks before bringing the glass to your lips “Your apartment is very.. neat.”

He leaned against his counter “I prefer to keep things..organized.”

Your fingers made patterns on the glass.

“So, how’s Hell’s Kitchen treating you so far ?” he was looking at you now.

You put the glass down “Well, the people in this building are great.” you waved in his direction “I haven’t really been outside my apartment unless it is to go get groceries. But then again, I’ve only been here for two days.”

He nodded and he seemed to focus on your face now “So you don’t go out much. Is that why you wear your sunglasses inside, ‘cause you can’t wear them otherwise ?” he chuckled.

You avoided looking at him now “No.. uh..-”

“Because If you’re wearing them to hide those bruises, just a heads up, it’s not really helping.”

You looked up at him now and sighed. No point keeping them on now, considering they do a poor job hiding the bruises. You took them off and put them on the table next to the glass.

“Alright, you got me.”

He narrowed his eyes for a moment “How’d that happen?”

You thought about lying for a moment, but you were a pretty bad liar. So truth it was. “Let’s just say that my ex didn’t like it when I disobeyed.” you took the glass and took another sip of your soda.

“That why you moved in here ?” he walked over to the table now and took a seat opposite of you.

“Yeah. Didn’t have any other choice. I’ve moved a couple of times now, in the last months. I wasn’t going to wait until he decided to kill me.”

It was silent between you for a moment until you spoke “So, Dex. What do you do for a living ?”

He leaned back on the chair “I work for the FBI.””

You looked at him suprised “You’re FBI, like, the real FBI ?” your voice enthusiastic.

Your reaction made a shy smile grow on his face “Yeah. The real FBI.”

“So you’re an agent then ?” you were curious now and had forgotten about your drink.

“Special Agent to be precise.”

“Wow, that is awesome. I never met anyone before that was in the FBI. What’s it like? Do you catch a lot of bad guys ? Is it a bit like the movies ? I mean I know those are movies but I still wonder what it’s like, you know ?”

He looked at you in amusement as you threw all your questions at him “Uhm..” he thought for a moment “We do catch the 'bad guys’ but there’s a lot of protocol that we have to follow.”

“So you save people ? I bet you do..” it came out of your mouth faster then you wanted it to and you took the glass to take a sip of the soda.

You let your eyes wander over his apartment but you saw him smile shyly before he moved his hand over his jaw and mouth.

The unexpected noise of a ringing phone almost made you jump.

“It’s mine.” he quickly said and took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. “It’s work.”

“Oh, I’d better get going then. Don’t want to impose on the super secret FBI stuff.” you stood up from the chair and nervously brushed a hand over your sweater.

He looked like he wanted to say something but you quickly spoke “Enjoy the pancakes.”

He coughed and you could hear him supress a chuckle “Thanks.”

You waved at him awkwardly before you left the apartment.

You let out a sigh of relief when you where at the other side of the door. You had managed to turn into a rambling mess. No wonder you had a hard time making friends. Making your way back to your own apartment, you kept thinking about how he must think you’re some kind of oddball.


	3. Morning Jog

You woke up early the next morning, when you left your ex you had promised yourself to take the most out of every day. Part of you wanted to stay in bed, but you knew that some fresh air would be good for you. He had wanted you to be afraid, afraid to leave, and you did not want to give him the satisfaction of keeping you scared. And perhaps you could meet more people. You drank your coffee before you switched into your running clothes. It had been so long since you had done a morning run. Your ex used to forbid you to do so, afraid you might start running and never return to him and he was right to think so.

You grabbed your Ipod and looked for a good song with a good beat to it. Lastly you took your bag that you hanged over your shoulder.

You stepped out of your apartment carrying some pancakes you had packed up. The moment you locked your door, Mr.Wilkinson stepped out of his.

“Mr.Wilki-” he looked at you “..Bob” you smiled at him kindly as you caught yourself. “Goodmorning. I have this for you.”

You walked to him holding out the plate of pancakes.

He looked at you puzzled for a moment before his eyes lit up in suprise as he took the plate from your hands “Oh my ! These smell delicious. My wife once attempted to make these, she however used salt instead of sugar by accident.”

“Really ?” you giggled at his story.

He nodded “Really. She of course refused to admit her mistake.”

You laughed at his words “She sounds like she was quite the woman, Bob.”

“She was. She really was.” His eyes were sad for a moment before his cheery mood returned “Well, I should get these inside. Thanks again (y/n). But..”

You waited for him to continue “Yes?”

He got a bit closer to you “You were able to make these pancakes, does that mean you were able to get an egg from the guy upstairs ?” his whispering suprised you.

“Yes. I also brought him some last night to thank him. We talked a bit.” Why were you whispering as well now??

He seemed suprised “He’s a quiet one. Keeps to himself mostly.”

“He’s seems nice though.” you quietly informed him.

“Good to hear. This city has a lot of good people in them, but a lot of bad ones too.” he pointed his finger at you as if he was trying to teach a child.

“Well, It’s time I go out and meet the ‘good’ people then. I’m going for a run.” you tilted your head towards the stairs.

He put his hand on the doorknob “That’s a good plan. And if you run into the wrong people, keep running.” He patted you on the shoulder as he laughed.

You let out a chuckle “I’ll remember that advice, thank you, Bob.”

You waited until he was back in his apartment before you made your way down the stairs and out of the building. You had googled for a good path to run.

The air smelled fresh, the rain from the night before was still drying up on the streets. It was only when the sun started to sting your eye that you realised you had forgotten your sunglasses. You shrugged it off. There was no one in Hell’s Kitchen that knew you, who would ask about the bruises or the cut? Why should you care ? You were free now, and as your feet began touching the ground in a quick pace you also felt free.

You had planned to run along the East River Bikeway, it had been a good decision as you were able to enjoy the company of other early runners and the impressive architecture of the bridges.

Knowing that there were other people following the route you were taking had to be a good sign that this really was a good route for a jog.

You had been running for a while now and you stopped for a moment to catch your breath. Your hands on your hips as you breathed out.

You heared a yelp and you looked up and around you instantly. A girl had fallen on the ground. You hurried to her side “Hey, are you okay ??” you held your hand out to her and she took it. You pulled her to her feet again.

“Hey, Thank you. I tripped over an empty beer bottle I believe.” she brushed the dirt off of her knees.

You noticed what looked like a broken MP3 player laying on the ground right next to her feet.

“Is this yours ?” you kneeled and picked the MP3 player up from the ground. The sudden sad look on her face confirmed your suspicions.

“Yes. I can’t believe it is broken.” you handed it to her and she desperately tried to switch it on.

The way she looked at the MP3 player in despair made you think that this girl didn’t have the budget to get a new one. It made you think back to the days where you yourself missed having one, music just made the world better, a way to escape the harsh reality.

You took your earphones out and grabbed hold of your Ipod “Hey, I’m sorry about your player. Look, I uhm.. I have another one of these at home and I would love for you to have this one.” you held out your Ipod to her. Her eyes widened as she looked at the Ipod in your hand “What ?.. no I can’t accept that..” she stammered.

You just smiled at her “I know how shitty it can be to exercise without listening to music. And this one isn’t new or anything. Just an old Ipod. I barely use it anymore.” It was a lie, you bought the thing new not long ago. You placed it in her hand and she looked at it in disbelieve “Thank you so much ! This is just.. wow.” her excitement was worth the Ipod.

“You’re very welcome. Sorry if the music on it isn’t that new, you will notice I am a Queen fan.”

She shook her head as she figured out how to work with the Ipod “That’s perfect! I am too. Hey, listen uhm.. if you give me your number, perhaps I can find a way to repay you for this.”

You held up your hand “No.. you don’t have to-”

“Please ? you have been so kind.” she interupted you.

You nodded in agreement and gave her a number. Not your number, you didn’t want her to feel like she owes you something.

You talked to her for a bit longer before you said your goodbye’s and she went back to run in the other direction.

 

You wanted to check what time it was and grabbed your phone from your bag.

As you took your phone out of your bag to check the time you weren’t paying much attention to your surroundings.

That’s when it happened, you felt a strong pull on your shoulder almost making you drop your phone.

The pull was short but forceful, and you couldn’t believe your eyes as you realised what was happening. A guy was running away from you now, in his hand he was holding your bag.

A gasp escaped you as you saw it “HEY !!!! STOP!!!” you bolted after him.

Hell no, you were not going to let someone just steal your bag like that.

The other runners moved aside in suprise at what was happening. You tried to keep up but damn this guy was fast.

A sudden breeze of air passed over your shoulder, it took you a second for your eyes to register what had caused the breeze. What was that ??

The object hit the back of the thief hard and he stumbled and hit the ground face first.

You stopped dead in your tracks when you saw it happen, the thief was on the ground and next to him.. a water bottle ?

You started walking towards the thief, still wanting your damn bag back.

Someone ran passed you and once they were past you he turned around “Wait here. And call the police.” your eyes now focused on the person in front of you.

Your mouth fell open in suprise as you saw your neighbour from the floor above you standing in front of you, wearing a running outfit and cap.

“Dex ?” you gawked at him.

He nodded as he held up his hand, telling you to stay put. You started to dial the number and explained what was happening to the police. He turned back to the thief who was starting to get up “FBI !” Dex said casually as he walked to the thief “I’d suggest you stay down.”

He grabbed the thief harshly and restrained him with ease as he used his knee to keep the thief on the ground and held the thief’s hands behind his back.

The police soon arrived at the scene and Dex pulled the thief off of the ground and walked him over to the police vehicle. You had to stay and tell the police what had happened.

“So he stole your bag and then you were chasing him?” the cop asked you.

You rubbed your arms “That’s correct.”

“What happened after that ?” the cop was taking notes as you answered the questions.

“The asshole tripped over his own feet and hit the ground.” Dex spoke up before you could.

You looked at him, knowing damn well that that wasn’t the complete truth. You knew the thief was struck by a water bottle and that was what made him fall.

The cop looked a bit suspicious “Is that correct, Miss ?”

“Yes, he tripped and fell. That is when Special Agent Poindexter restrained him until you arrived here.” you decided to lie, he did just stop a thief that tried to steal your bag. Dex’s eyes fell on you momentarily when he heard you confirm his version of the story.

“Alright then. I’ll be taking this guy back to the precinct. If we should need any further information we will contact you. Have a good day, Miss (l/n).” the cop tells you. “Good job, Special Agent Poindexter.” he gives Dex a tap on the arm before he gets in his vehicle and drives of with the thief.

“I’d take it that throwing a water bottle at a thief isn’t something the FBI teaches you, Special Agent Poindexter ?” you turned to look at him, wanting to see his reaction.

He looked around him before he finally looked at you “No, they stick to teaching us how to beat them up or shoot them most of the time.” there was a tad of sarcasm in his voice.

“Shame. It would be a very entertaining sight.” you dryly told him.

He let out a chuckle and moved his hand over his face “Yeah. It would be..yeah.”

“Thank you, Dex. Thanks for saving my bag, I don’t know what I would have done without my favorite granola bar that I carry with me. I mean, imagine me running all this time and no snack to reward myself ? It would have been horrible.”

He looked at you before he shook his head and placed his hands on his waist. A smile slowly growing on his face “You are by far the strangest person I’ve met so far.”

You pretended to be insulted “Says the guy who took a guy down by throwing his freaking water bottle at him.” you crossed your arms “Besides, everyone needs a little 'strange’ in their lives. Life would be boring otherwise.”

His eyes landed on yours as he appeared to think about what you had just told him.

There was something in the way he looked at you that made you wonder if he found you strange as in too strange. Or strange as in interesting.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest as well and blinked a couple of times before he spoke “Good point.”

He kept his eyes on you and you were lightly swaying yourself to try and keep yourself warm as the air was starting to get colder.

He noticed your discomfort “Hey..(y/n)..-”

“Do you want to go and grab a coffee ?” the question fell from your lips faster “My treat, of course.”

His brow rose in suprise at your question, a lopsided smile making it’s way on his face “Sure. I’ve got some time.”

“Great. There’s a place close by that I know off.” your voice was cheery.

You two decided to walk the short distance instead of running. Chasing a thief was all the workout you needed for the day.


	4. The Coffeeshop

As you opened the door of the coffee shop, the smell of warm delicious coffee hit your nose.

You held the door open as Dex followed you inside the shop.

It was small, there were some tables where you could sit. You had been here the first day you arrived in this part of the city, the delicious smell had worked like a magnet on you. The first time you were here alone, with your worries and fears. How would you manage on your own in such a big city ? You knew Hell’s Kitchen had the reputation of being unsafe, but at the same time it was perfect. Your ex would never find you here, no one here knew you, who would he ask?

It was easy to disappear here.

“I came here the same day I moved in the building.” you tell Dex.

“I haven’t been in here myself.” he stood next to you know, waiting in line.

“Well, I can assure you that the coffee they serve here is awesome. So just tell them what you want, I’ve got the cash part covered. All thanks to you saving my bag.” you nudged his arm with your elbow softly before you realised what you were doing.

Why ? Why did you do that?

He looked at you and for a moment you felt small.

Did you really just nudge your neighbour that works for the FBI ?

“Sorry… I’m not used to going out with people anymore, I didn’t mean to overstep-” you started to stammer.

The grin that appeared on his face made you relax “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”

Your eyes fell to your feet, you were sure he must think you are some kind of weirdo now.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I know I can be annoying sometimes and it scares people away and-”

“Goodmorning, what kind of coffee would you like today ?” a voice suddenly interupted you.

Dex eyes stayed on you before he spoke up and ordered his coffee and waited until you told the barista what you wanted.

“(y/n).” Dex nodded towards an empty table “Wanna take a seat ?”

“Yeah.” you tried to smile, you really did.

The mental games your ex had played with you were now showing their results. He had told you so many times how annoying you were, how you would never find another because of it. You were reaching out to strangers now, reaching out for a connection you feared you would never have again. And you knew it would scare people away, that it might make you look ‘needy’. Perhaps you were, perhaps you really needed someone, even if it was just a friend.

You quietly walked with Dex towards the small table and sat down on the chair opposite of him.

Your were fumbling with a napkin on the table when Dex cleared his throat and it made you look up at him.

“You know, I’m curious. What exactly were you going to do if you had caught that guy stealing your bag ?” placing his elbows on the table as he asked you the question.

“Ha, I actually didn’t think about that. It all happened so fast. I was talking to this girl and when I wanted to start running again, I felt my bag being pulled off of me. Not smart, I know.” you shrugged your shoulders.

“Not at all. I see it a lot at work, people going after the bad guys themselves. It’s pretty common.” he chuckled “But next time, don’t risk your life for a bag. Alright ?”

The concerned tone in his voice suprised you “Uhm.. I won’t. Sorry you got dragged into this, if I had paid attention to what was happening around me.. it probably still would have happened.” your voice got quieter as you thought about it.

A soft laugh escaped him “You didn’t drag me into anything. And it would have looked pretty bad if an FBI agent would’ve let a criminal just run off.”

“Yup, that would’ve looked pretty bad.” you laughed a little “So you were just doing your job.”

Dex’s eyes locked on yours for a moment before they darted around the room “Yeah.” he was tapping his fingers on the table and it made you believe that he was nervous for some reason “I uh.. I run on that route a lot. I noticed you were there when you stopped to help that woman.”

“Oh. Yeah, she had fallen. I hope she is doing fine now.” you looked around to see if the waiter was coming with your coffees.

“It was a kind thing you did.” you looked back at him and were suprised to see what looked like an expression of admiration on his face.

“I just helped her up, that’s all.” you brushed it off. It was only normal for you to help someone, something you wished people would have done for you.

“No… you..” he brushed his hand over his chin “You did more than that. The fact that you don’t realise it just shows how good you are.”

You were speechless “I.. uhm..”

He folded his hands together on the table “I saw you give your Ipod to that woman. You saw how distressed she was and you helped her. It was an act of selflessness.”

“It was just an old Ipod.” you lied.

He raised a brow at you and you knew he saw right through the lie “Was it ?”

“Hello, sorry for the wait. Here are the coffees you ordered.” the waiter was standing next to the table and Dex leaned back on the chair.

“It’s fine.” you tell the waiter and smiled at him.

The eyes of the waiter locked on yours, too long to not notice “Hi, I hope you enjoy your coffee, Miss.” he winked at you and it suprised you how bold he was “We serve fresh pastries here everyday, so if you return here tomorrow we will have the kitchen’s speciality.”

There was no way that this waiter was not dropping hints to you, hoping you would return here tomorrow. But you knew that he didn’t just wanted you to return for the ’kitchen’s speciality’, no, he was hoping you would return without Dex. This was awkward to say the least, not that the waiter was bad looking, but it was kind of.. rude ?

You let out an awkward chuckle as the waiter tried to keep obvious eye contact with you. It only stopped when Dex cleared his throat. The waiter seemed to snap out of it “Apologies. Can I get you anything else ?”

You noticed how Dex was fidgeting with the plastic cup in his hand, his jaw tense.

“No, that will be all. Thank you.” you stayed friendly and the waiter walked away from your table.

Dex relaxed as the waiter left, was he jealous ? No. That can’t be possible. You barely knew each other.

“So tell me, Dex.” he looked up from his coffee to you “Did you like the pancakes ?”

He let out a breath as he heard your question “They were great. Is that what you did before moving here ? Working in a bakery or something like that ?”

A laugh escaped your lips “Ha, no. I just like to bake, it calms me down. It’s hard to be stressed when you have to focus on not messing up a recipe.”

“I get what you mean. I mean about the focusing on something else to deal with stress.” he made it sound casual but you felt there was a deeper meaning to it. “Your eye is starting to look better.” he pointed out.

You absentmindedly let your fingers touch the area around your eye, almost having forgotten all about the bruises. Now you figured out why Mr.Wilkinson had looked so puzzled this morning, he had not seen you without the sunglasses yet.

“Wanna know how to handle that?” Dex pointed at you and took a sip from his cup as he waited for your answer.

“Let me guess, by not getting hit in the face ?” you took a sip from your own coffee now.

He furrowed his brow and tapped his fingers on the cup he was holding “Well, yeah..that too.. but I was gonna say that you gotta cool the area around your eye down as soon as possible. But it has been more then two days,obviously, so I’d start applying warm compresses now and then. It’ll help heal faster.”

“Thanks for the tip. I’ll remember it. I just hope this will be the first and last time.” you placed the cup on the table.

“You think your ex is gonna try and find you here ?” Dex started to fumble with a coaster that was on the table.

The thought of your ex coming to find you made you nauseous and it was enough to make the color drain from your face.

“(y/n) ?” Dex’s eyes were scanning your face now.

You quickly shook your head and let out a breath “I don’t know.. I hope he doesn’t try to find me.”

“You’re afraid of him.” it was a statement, not a question.

You could only nod in confirmation.

Dex placed his arms on the table again “Listen, it’s a big city. I wouldn’t worry about him finding you. Even the FBI has trouble finding people who go missing.”

“That’s comforting ?…” you let out a chuckle.

“Yeah.. I guess I didn’t think that one through.” he rubbed his hand over his face.

You let your fingers wander over the coffee cup on the table, only looking at Dex when he touched your hand with his fingers very lightly and quickly. He did it to pull your attention, but when he did it felt like a spark.

His hand quickly returned to his coffee before he spoke “But… If you ever feel like you’re scared or…” he trailed off “…let me know.”

“Wow.. uhm..” you tapped your finger on your cup “Thank you. That’s really nice of you.” a smile formed on your lips when you looked at him.

He smiled back at you and you couldn’t help but notice how adorable he looked. He might appear as a tough FBI agent but he had a boyish charm to him.

“Yeah, don’t mention it. Besides, it’s my job to keep people safe.” he brushed it off.

“It’s your job to keep your annoying neighbour safe ?” a playful smile on your face.

He shook his head at your choice of words “I don’t think you are annoying.”

“ You don’t ?” you hesitantly asked.

“No. Is that what he made you believe ?” his eyes locked on yours.

You nodded “Yeah. It’s why I am always afraid that I am bugging people. I don’t usually do this” you motioned your hand in a circle “Usually I just try to make other people’s day a bit nicer. After losing my friends, I’m scared to make new ones…” you fumbled with your fingers.

“You’re afraid they will abandon you too.” he stated and your eyes met his.

“Yes. How did you guess that ?” you looked at him in suprise, how the hell did he just know that?

He put a hand on his leg “I uhm.. I know what that’s like.” he choose his words carefully.

You looked at him in disbelieve “It’s hard to imagine that someone like you doesn’t have a lot of friends, Dex.”

He let out a chuckle “I mean.. I’ve got colleagues in the FBI, but it’s not..”

“It’s not the same.” you finished his sentence.

He nodded and kept his eyes on his hands “Yeah.”

As you looked at him, you felt that there was an understanding between the both of you.

Hell, it was almost like he was as alone in this big city as you were.

“I wish it was easier to make friends, when you’re a kid you just go up to another kid and boom you’re friends.” you laughed a little as you said it.

“I didn’t really have friends when I was a kid either.” his insecurity was clear as he spoke.

Your eyes widened “Really ?”

He mouthed a 'yup’ before he took another sip of his coffee.

You didn’t want to pry into his personal life too much yet.

You sat up straight and thought before you spoke “Well then, Dex.”

His eyes fell on you again as he noticed your change of tone.

A smile playing on you lips “Wanna be friends ?” you said it in childlike tone.

His eyes widened for a moment before he chuckled and rubbed a hand over his face “You are so strange.” he shook his head.

“Is that a yes ?” you were not giving up.

He sat and straightened himself as well now, he looked at you before he gave a short nod “Yes.”

You took another sip of your coffee as you smiled at him.

Dex was still processing what just happened. The day he met you, he had been drawn to your bubbly personality. And now you had just declared him your friend, just like that. Perhaps you thought it didn’t mean much to him, but it did.

It did more then you could possibly realise right now.

“Holy shit, I just realised I asked a federal agent to be my friend.” you nearly choked on your coffee.

A worried expression quickly appearing on Dex’s face as he feared you were regretting it “It’s not a crime.”

You snorted “I know. It’s just strange.”

He relaxed at your choice of words and let out a breath.

You cleared your throat “Dex..” you nervously tapped your fingers on your knee “Are you sure your girlfriend will be okay with us being friends ?”

“I don’t think she will mind.” he answers and you feel like being punched in the gut. You should have known he wasn’t single, how could he be ? He was handsome, smart and a Special Agent.

You were too caught up in your strain of thought to notice the smirk growing on his face.

“Because I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Your eyes widened as relief washed over you “Thank god.” you whispered to yourself but it was louder then you had intended it to be.

“What ?” he was looking at you with a questioning expression.

You opened your mouth to speak but were lost for words for a moment, until you finally stammered “Oh, no, no ! I don’t mean 'Thank God, you’re single’ in a mean way. I meant 'Thank God’ …. we can be …friends.” you crinched at your own words as they flew out of your mouth in record time.

He nodded his head, seeming more confussed then he was before.

“Because who wouldn’t want to date you ? You’re great.” you felt like you were digging a hole you were not going to be able to climb out, so you fell silent.

This time Dex cleared his throat as he took another sip of his coffee to hide the smile that had grown on his face.

You on the other hand wanted to fall through the ground and be absorbed by it at this point.

A minute of silence past.

There was something you wanted to ask and even Dex noticed your expression.

“What ?” he asked as he drank the last of his coffee.

You played with the strap of your bag nervously “Can I see it ?” you whispered it.

His furrowed his brow before he shook his head in confussion “ See what exactly ?”

“Oh, I mean your badge.” you stuttered when you figured how that must have sounded.

He suppressed a laugh and took the badge out of his pocket and discreetly slided it over the table towards you.

You carefully took it and looked “Awesome” you quietly said “Benjamin, huh?” you looked up at him.

“I still prefer Dex.” Dex paid attention to your reactions, you seemed so innocent to him, so open and honest.

You discreetly passed it back to him and he put the badge back.

“You know, I was wondering. How the hell did you manage to throw that water bottle past me and against the thief. I mean… how ?” you knew that the bottle had passed over your shoulder but how could he possibly throw it that well ?

“It’s something I’ve been able to do since I was a kid.” he admitted sheepishly.

“Damn. You’ve got good aim. No wonder you’re with the FBI.” you blurted it out.

The sound of a phone ringing interupted what he was about to say.

Dex reached in his pocket giving you a quick “Excuse me.” before he looked at the screen “I uh.. I have to go to work.” he gives you an apologetic look.

“Oh..” you sat up straight now. Of course he had to go to work, you probably caused him to be late. “Of course. I understand.”

He gave you a quick nod and looked at you “I’ll see you later ?” his voice was hopeful.

“It’s kind of inevitable, Dex. We live in the same building.” you playfully said.

He nodded quickly and shook his head as he let out a chuckle “I.. yeah.”

“Good luck today.” you quickly said as he stood up to leave “And stay safe.”

“I will and …thank you for the coffee.” he grinned at you before he left.


	5. Wrong Place Wrong time

After Dex had left, you decided to spend the day making waffles. And to do that you would need to go out and buy the ingredients. You didn’t just want some random brand of butter or a random brand of sugar, no. The ingredients you needed had to be of a specific brand. The old brands your mother always used. You had found the recipe of the waffles in her old cookbook after she had passed, you even had the old waffle maker she always used and you took great care of it. Even though time had aged it visibly, it still worked amazingly well and fast.

You went to a few shops before you finally found one that had the things you were looking for. As you were reaching for the milk your hand bumped into someone else’s. You quickly pulled your hand back.

“Sorry.” you blurted out at the same time as the other person.

The blonde woman next to you chuckled at the situation.

You took a jug of milk and handed it to her “Here you go.”

She looked at you in light suprise as she took the jug you were holding out to her “Thank you.” she was tapping her fingers against the jug and you knew she had noticed the marks around your eye. You had seen her eyes scan over it for only a second. “I’m Karen. Karen Page.”

Her introduction now took you by suprise considering you two were total strangers who just bumped into each other in a store. You reminded yourself that you could use more friends in this new city “I’m (y/n) (l/n).”

She held out her hand and you shook it.

Her voice was low in volume as she spoke to you again “I know it’s none of my business but-”

“But your going to get involved anyway ? Doesn’t suprise me to be honest, I bet most reporters would.” a small smile on your lips as you looked at her.

She let out a breath “I…how did you know ?”

“I read your articles in the newspaper on this uhm.. Daredevil guy.” you casually stated.

“Oh. That does explain things.” she let out a chuckle “I just..” She pointed at her own eye discreetly “I just wanted to say that I know a good lawyer if you’d consider pressing charges. He’s a good guy, he helped me as well when I was in trouble.”

Your eyes fell for a moment, you appreciated that someone you didn’t even know would care about your well-being. If only you had met someone like her earlier, perhaps you would have pressed charges against your ex. Perhaps you wouldn’t have had to hide from him. Perhaps that would have been a mistake, yes, it would have been a mistake.

“Thank you, Miss Page. But this..” you pointed at the remainder of your bruised skin “Isn’t going to happen again. I left him.. I am starting a new life, away from him.”

A smile appeared on her face “I am very glad to hear that. You have made the right decision. If however you would still consider to press charges against him..” she rummaged through her bag for a moment “This guy will help you out, I am sure of it.”

She handed you a card “Foggy Nelson?”

“Yes. He works for Hogarth, Chao and Benowitz now. He used to work for Nelson and Murdock.” she clarrified.

You gave a quick nod “Thank you. I’ll… I will think about it.”

“Great, and uhm.. good luck.” she told you before she left you to continue your grocery shopping.

 

 

 

_Past….._

 

 

_The sun was shinning down on you as you walked down the street._

_A smile dancing on your lips as you turned the corner and smiled to a person you had often seen around in the stores, always ending up chatting a bit together._

_Life wasn’t always perfect, but right now it did feel that way. You shared a cozy house with a nice garden with your boyfriend. You had met him about four months ago when you were sitting on a bench reading a text message on your phone when you became aware that someone had taken place next to you. It pulled your attention away from your phone and when you looked up into a pair of dark green eyes you felt your heart flutter. He was gorgeous, no, he was more then that. His raven black hair combed back neatly, dressed in a suit that looked like it was made especially for him. He was the epitome of confidence. The moment his eyes locked on yours, the moment he said “Hello” with a voice as smooth as silk, you knew you were lost._

_He was the perfect boyfriend, and not long after you two met, you were living together._

_He often worked late in his office, but when he came home he never spoke about work. Avoided it even, it should have been a red flag but you couldn’t see that. You felt so lucky to have a guy like him. All you knew is that he worked for a security company that protected people who were wealthy enough to afford it._

_You had decided to suprise him at his office, you had never been there before but it was easy enough to find the building. The fact that the door to the building was unlocked didn’t strike you as strange, it was probably open for potential clients. You walked inside, making sure to close the door again quietly. You didn’t want to ruin the suprise. A quick look around showed you that there was no one on the first floor. You had expected a receptionist or perhaps even a secratery, but there was no one. You made your way up the stairs, ignore the feeling in your gut that something was off. Second floor, no one. Third floor, no one. This place didn’t just look abandoned, it was abondened. The rooms were empty, no one was working there._

_The feeling inside you grew, this was wrong. Something is wrong. You heard voices coming from the floor above you, you listened and heard your boyfriend’s voice but it was unclear what he was saying._

_You brushed the strange feeling away, surely there was a normal explanation. Perhaps they used this building to ensure the safety of their clients, perhaps that’s why there was no one else here._

_You walked up the stairs to the fourth floor and the voice of your boyfriend got clearer as you neared the room he was in. As you got closer you could hear other voices, three other voices, all of them male._

_Something inside you warned you, warned you to stay quiet, to listen. Your plan was to walk in his office and shout suprise and hand him the cupcakes you had baked that morning. But now you stayed around the corner as you listened to what they were saying. You peeked around the corner and saw your boyfriend leaning against his desk, relaxed as he looked at another guy who was sitting on the chair in front of him. Two others were standing at the side, as if they were guarding something or someone._

“ _Mister Davis, you must understand that my client is very upset about these unfortunate circumstances. He placed a lot of faith in you when he asked you to keep his shipments safe.” your boyfriend’s silky voice cut through the silence of the room._

_The man in the chair scoffed “I tried alright! Everything went smooth until Daredevil showed up. How the hell was I supposed to handle that situation ?! Not even Fisk could beat that son of a bitch! He’s in prison thanks to him !” the man shouted in anger._

_Your boyfriend sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose “I’m afraid that trying is not enough. You failed Mister Fisk, the shipments are lost because of your incompetence-”_

“ _My incompetence?! Shaw, you son of a bitch, I’ve worked for Fisk for years. How dare you speak to me like that!”_

“ _Let’s keep this professional, Mister Davis.” a slight hint of annoyance was audible in your boyfriend’s voice._

_The other man slammed his fists on the chair he was sitting in “Damn you ! You think you’re above me ?! Above the others !”_

_Your boyfriend only sighed again as he stood now, a hand smoothing out his suit jacket as he turned his back to the man “Mister Fisk has asked me to give you another chance. Do you think you will be succesful this time ?” his voice showed no interest in the man._

“ _You don’t think I will ?!” the man stood up from the chair fuming now._

“ _Indeed, I do not.” he turned to the man, his expression was blank._

“ _Who the hell do you think you’re talking to !” the man’s voice was loud now._

_Your boyfriend didn’t speak, he looked at the man with little interest before he closed his eyes and sighed once more._

_Then it happened quickly, your boyfriend pulled a gun from his jacket and shot the man only once. Sending a bullet straight into his head. The man fell backwards._

_The sound of the gunshot made you jump, a short scream escaped your throat at the unexpected  situation. And you knew they had heard you. You didn’t wait, you ran, back to the door that would lead to the stairs. And right when you put your hand on the door handle you felt someone yank your hair back, before they grabbed your arm and held it behind your back to push you against the door._

_One of the men who had been in the room was now holding you against the door._

“ _Got them!” he shouted and you heard the others nearing._

_The other man was the second to show up, and when he got closer to you he grabbed a gun from behind his back. The one holding you turned you around, slamming the back of your head against the door as he did. And soon you were face-to-face with Shaw “Easy, gentlemen. This one belongs to me.“ he walked over to you and the guy holding you let go._

“ _Sweetheart, you must forgive this man for handling you like this. But you did give us a reason to distrust you. Why are you here ?” he was calm as he spoke, as if nothing had happened. And that is when a feeling of dread washed over you, this wasn’t the first time he killed someone. You were shaking with fear, a tear escaped your eye and you couldn’t speak._

_He nodded to the other man to take a step back and the man did as commanded “(y/n), Why are you here?” he asked again but this time there was a sharp edge to his words._

_You couldn’t look him in the eyes, not anymore “I wanted to suprise you.” your voice almost a whisper._

_His mouth curved into a smile, but you knew it wasn’t a genuine one “Well, color me surprised.”_

_He let out a breath as he dragged his hand over his chin “I really wish you would have called, sweetheart. Now we are facing a problem. You saw what just happened didn’t you ?”_

_You focused on his tie instead of on his face as you nodded._

_He nodded as well "Alright, here’s what’s going to happen. You didn’t see anything. And if anyone asks, you will tell them exactly that. Understand ?”_  
You nodded lightly, not able to form words as your throat tightened.  
His hand struck your cheek and you looked at him in shock, finally meeting his eyes “I asked you if you understand, you would be smart to answer that clearly.”

“ _I understand.” your voice broke._

_He held on to your chin with his fingers “Good girl.” he said and placed a quick kiss on your lips. You wanted to throw up at this point but you knew you had to pretend everything was fine. His eyes fell on the bag you were holding “Did you bring me some of your famous cupcakes, little dove?”_

_You swallowed before you answered “Yes.”_

“ _See this, gentlemen, this is why I like this girl. She’s beautiful, she’s smart and she knows how to cook.” he took the bag from your hand “And she knows when to keep quiet.” it sounded like a threat and you were sure that it was exactly that._

_He took a step back from you “I’ll be home a little later tonight, love. I have some things to take care of. But this guy here is going to make sure you get home safely.”_

_This was his way of telling you, to not try to run._

_Shaw walked past you and one of the other guys grabbed hold of your arm and guided you out the building and to the house you shared with Shaw._

_The only way to survive was to obey Shaw, knowing that if he wanted, he could end your life._

_All you had to do was be a “Good girl.”_


	6. Girl Scout

It had already started to get dark outside when you arrived home. You placed the groceries in the fridge, only leaving the things out that you would need to make the waffles.

A knock on the door pulled your attention, you were not expecting anyone and you became wary. You opened the door and were confused when you saw a blond haired girl. She couldn’t have been older then 15. Her curly hair losely tied in a ponytail. Piercings in her ear and nose. She looked you up and down before she gave you a half-hearted “Hi.” As she continued to chew the gum in her mouth.  
You narrowed your eyes at the girl “Hi…can I help you ?”.  
She shrugged her shoulders “Just wanted to see who the newbie was in the building.”  
“You live here too ?” You asked her.  
“Yup, floor below this one. Together with my parents.” The girl sounded like she was bored. Really bored.  
It took you a moment to remember what Mr. Wilkinson had told you “Wait, is your last name Smith ?”  
“Bingo.” She raised her arm and opened her hand while making a noise that reminded you of firework. “I’m Ally.”  
“Nice to meet you, Ally, I’m (y/n) (l/n).” You opened the door a little wider “Do your parents know you’re here ?”  
She half-laughed at that “Yeah. Mom knows I’m here. Pretty sure she doesn’t care.” Her cold attitude dropped for a second and was exchanged for a sad expression before she continued “She’s got her boyfriend over.”  
She was pretending to be casual about all of it but she was clearly not okay.  
“Oh, you don’t like him ?”  
She gave you a look before she scoffed “I usually leave the place until my dad comes home.”  
“Oh.” your face fell at the realisation.  
“Yeah.”  
She looked pale, like she hadn’t slept well in days.  
You tapped your fingers against the door “Are you hungry ?”  
The question suprised her “Uh..”  
You opened the door wider “I still got some pancakes left that I made.” You motioned your hand to invite her inside.  
Ally looked past you into your apartment, uncertain as to accept your invitation “This isn’t some Hansel and Gretel stuff is it ?”  
A laugh escaped you at hearing that “I assure you, you will not find any gingerbread inside this place.”  
She hesitated one more moment before she walked inside.  
You closed the door and she looked around your place.  
“You got cool stuff. A bit too much carton for my taste but who am I to judge, right ?”  
Letting out a chuckle you walked past her to the fridge “Haven’t bothered unpacking yet. Besides, I travel light.”  
“Sounds like something a serial killer would say.” She noted.  
“Or someone hiding from one.” You countered.  
She looked over at you as you placed the plate with pancakes in the microwave.  
She shrugged her shoulders again “So, you dating that guy from the other floor?”  
Her unexpected question startled you and you shook your head quickly “No, we’re …we’re just friends.”  
She let out a noise that made it clear that she didn’t believe that “Funny, that’s what my mom says about her boytoy.”  
You turned towards the microwave ignoring her comment and prayed you were not turning red.  
You heard her walk around the place before she plumbed down on a chair at the table “I once went up there to meet him, he thought I was a girl scout. Me, a girl scout, seriously ? What about these clothes screams ‘girl scout’.”  
You swallowed a laugh when you heard how offended she sounded “Depends, were you carrying a box of cookies ? That could have given him the impression.” Your voice was filled with sarcasm.  
She rolled her eyes “ha ha ha, no.” She shrugged again “Never got a chance to talk to him like I’m talking to you now.”  
The microwave beeped “I hope you get a chance, because he is pretty cool.”  
“And a fed.” She added.  
You looked at her in suprise.  
“Saw his badge once when he was going up the stairs.”

You took the pancakes out of the microwave and placed them in front of her. “He’s a special agent.”

“You can say that again.” she muttered.

You shook your head and snorted “No, I mean he’s FBI. Special Agent Poindexter. I call him Dex.”

She raised a brow “Already calling each other nicknames, huh?”

“Uh.. you want some powdered sugar on those ?” you tried to bring the conversation to another topic.

She shook her head and grabbed the fork “Got any syrup ?”

You nodded and opened the fridge to take out the syrup “Yup, here you go.”

Ally added a glorious amount of syrup on top of the pancakes, and you could almost feel your teeth hurt at the sight of it. She ate like she hadn’t eaten a real meal in days, and part of you believed that this was most likely the case.

“So, how did you become friends with him ? That guy never talks to anyone in the building unless he has to.” she asked before she took another bite.

“Well, it started when I wanted to make these..” you pointed at the pancakes “…and I needed an egg, which Dex kindly offered. Then, when I was jogging, he stopped a guy from running off with my bag.”

“Huh, guess you were lucky he was jogging where you were then.” she nodded with a baffled look on her face “And ?”

You looked at her confussed “And ?”

She sighed “And what happened then ?”

You shrugged your shoulders and sat down at the table as well “Then I asked him to go and grab a coffee with me. I paid of course, considering he just stopped a thief and got me back my bag.”

She looked up at you with amusement “So, he saved your bag and you asked him on a date. Got it.”

Your mouth fell open “No, that’s… not wha- what I said…” you stumbled over your words. “We’re just friends..”

“Uhuh.” she didn’t believe you at all “You keep saying that. Perhaps you’ll start to believe it yourself.”

You groaned in defeat.

Ally finished the last of her pancakes “Friends ?”

“Yes.”

“So, you’re really trying to convince me that you don’t have googly eyes for him ?” she wiped her mouth on her sleeve.

You narrowed your eyes at her.

“I can keep a secret, you know.” she added.

“Fine, maybe I like him.” you avoided her stare, but you knew she was smiling at her small victory. “But I’ve only known him for a couple of days.”

“So ?”

“So, I can’t be in love with someone I pretty much just met.” you explained.

“Perhaps, but it doesn’t change the fact that you have googly eyes for him.” Ally was clearly the type of person who could see through people’s bullshit with ease.

“Alright, I surrender.” you threw your hands in the air before you stood up and put the plate in the sink.

She got up from the table too “ Dad should be coming home now. Mom will have tossed her boyfriend out by now. I should get going.” she stood there a little awkwardly “And uh.. thank’s for the pancakes. You’re pretty cool.”

A smile formed on your face as you walked her to the door and opened it “You’re always welcome here. And you’re pretty cool too. Nosy. But cool.”

She gave a genuine smile “I’ll see you around. And uh.. good luck with that special guy.” she said as she stepped outside.

“Special agent.” you corrected her.

“Whatever you tell yourself.” she looked at you smugly before she walked away.

You let out a chuckle and shook your head, before you closed the door you saw Mr.Wilkinson heading in your direction with a woman by his side.

“Y/n !!!” he waved to you as he walked to you, the woman’s arm hooked in his.

“Hi, Bob !” your eyes landed on the unfamiliar woman “Ma'am.” you acknowledged her.

He tapped the woman’s hand that was resting on his arm reasuringly “I am glad to bump into you. I wanted you to meet Nancy.”

“Oh ! Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Nancy.” you shook her hand gently.

“Pleasure to meet you too.” she looked like she could belong in a storybook. A wide and sweet smile spreading on her face.

“We met at the monthly Bingo gathering. Lit up the room this one.” he said and Nancy blushed at his words.

“Oh, Bob.” she squeezed his arm.

“Well, I believe Bob. You two look very happy to be in eachother’s company.” you noted.

“We are indeed very happy.” Bob patted Nancy’s arm gently, earning a love struck look from Nancy again.

“I’d better get back inside, I am going to bake some more so…” you held out your hand to Nancy and she shook it “It’s was great to meet you, Nancy. I am glad to see Bob so happy.”

“Aw, good luck with the baking, dear.” she said before she and Bob walked to his apartment.

 


	7. The Holy Dough

You turned on the TV on a low volume as you were working. You knew the butter had to be soft so you decided to heat it up a bit while you measured the sugar you would need.

Once you had everything ready, you mixed it all together and let it rest for a bit before you would start to bake. You were doing some dishes as something on the TV pulled your attention. A reporter was talking about something and you raised the volume on the TV.

They were standing on the street, in front of an area that was marked with police barrier tape.

At first it wasn’t clear what had happened until the words “FBI convoy ambushed” fell.

The camera zoomed in on the place and you saw what you believed to be a car, upside down, riddled with bullets.

You gasped when you heard the news, they were talking about multiple casualties.

What if.. what if Dex was in that convoy ? Your mind was racing and you were starting to get worried. You stood up and you decided to go and check if Dex was home. If he wasn’t, you figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to call the hospital and ask if he might be there.

A knock on your door startled you, you collected yourself before you went to open it.

You opened it slightly and relief washed over you when you saw that Dex was standing in front of you. There were small cuts on his face, they didn’t seem to be bleeding anymore.

You opened the door wider “Dex ! Jesus, what happened ?!”

He was confused for an instant, as if he had forgotten the cuts were even there.

“Your..face.” you pointed at him and it seemed to click.

“I’m afraid I was born like this.” a smug look on his face as he brushed it off.

You rolled your eyes “I meant those cuts.”

His eyes darted behind you before he looked at you again “I uh.. we had to move a prisoner today. We were ambushed.”

Your hand reached out to him but you stopped before you actually touched him “Do you want to come in ?”

He hesitated before finally nodding and you moved aside so he could walk in “I came to return these.” he was holding out your sunglasses and the plate you had given with the pancakes.

“Thank you. And sorry about the mess in here, I haven’t really unpacked much yet. So please don’t trip over the boxes.” you looked at him sheepishly as you placed the plate and the sunglasses on the counter. “You were really in that ambush ? The one they are talking about on TV?”

His eyes were scanning your apartment, until they focused on the TV “Yeah.” he rubbed his neck “A lot of people died today. People I worked with. And all of it for some shitbag.” anger was clear in his voice. You turned off the TV before you stepped closer to him “I’m so sorry, Dex. I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you.”

You didn’t know what to say or what to do, how do you respond to something like that ?

“Are you okay ?” you shook your head “Sorry… I mean..I know you’re probably not. You just got shot at but..”

He looked tense when he first walked in, now he seemed to relax a bit more “I am now. It’s just..”

You carefully placed a hand on his arm but still kept your distance.

“It’s hard. It’s really hard.” he continued, his attention on the hand you had placed on his arm.  

You gave his arm a light squeeze and smiled “I’m glad you weren’t harmed…much.”

He let out a breath before he tilted his head towards your kitchen “Are you baking again?”

You let go of his arm “I am. Do you want to help m- ?”

“Yes.” his answer was fast and you held back a chuckle.

Dex’s answer was quick, any opportunity to spend time around you was an opportunity he would gladly take. Helping you was a good enough excuse.

“For a moment there I thought you were going to say ‘yes ma'am’, are you always this quick to help people ?” you walked passed him to the kitchen as he followed you.

“I.. It’s more of a reflex, I think. In the FBI.. they tell you were to go and you go. When they say shoot, you shoot.” he tried to make it sound casual, but something tells you it’s wasn’t the whole truth.

“Well, I am not your boss, Dex. You don’t have to help me if you don’t want to.” you turned to him.

He nodded to you “I know. But it’s what friends do, isn’t it ?”

“Not the friends that I used to have.” you laughed it off.

He stood looking at your counter now “Maybe they weren’t good friends then.”  _Not good enough for you_  he thought.

Your eyes fell on him “Perhaps.”

“This the magic stuff ?” he takes the bowl with the dough for the waffles in his hand.

“Yup, the super secret magic stuff.” your tone playful.

He brought the bowl closer to him and lifted the whisk to smell the scent “Hmm. Can I ?” he hummed in approval.

“NO!” it came out louder then you wanted it too, but you HATED it when people touched the dough when you baked. Your reaction startled him a bit.

“I..uhm.” he looked at you innocently and you regretted your action.

You gently took the bowl from his hand “Sorry. It’s nothing personal, Dex.” a soft smile dancing on your lips “First rule of being allowed in my kitchen, don’t touch the dough.”

A look of amusement washed over him and he crossed his arms in front of his chest “What’s the second ?”

“Nobody eats until I have finished baking all of the waffles. Yes, ALL of them.” His mouth opened but you cut him off “Any objections?” you raised your brow at him.

He let his arms fall to his sides “Well-”

“No ? Good. Let’s get baking then.” you switched on the waffle maker to heat it up.

A small chuckle escaping him as his eyes followed your every move “You always this bossy ?”.

You snorted “Nope. Only in my kitchen.”

You felt his eyes on you as you worked, was it because of all the flower and milk that was splattered on your clothes ?

Even though you tried to teach him how to use the very outdated waffle maker, Dex’s 'help’ mostly revolved around putting the baked waffles on the plates.

He was leaning against the counter as he watched you work.

“You got a little something..” he suddenly tells you “..there.” pointing at a part of your hair.

“I’m pretty sure I got a little something everywhere by now.” you jokingly said as you got the bit of dough from your hair. “You on the other hand, are standing here in a sparkling white shirt. You must feel very lucky.”

He looks down at his chest, as if he had not realised before what he was wearing.

A laugh falling from your mouth as you saw the look on his face “I have a kitchen apron over there if you need one.”

He scoffed “I’ll manage. Wait, why are  _you_  getting covered in all this stuff when you have an apron? Why not wear it?” a puzzled look on his face.

You cleared your throat, while pouring the last bit of dough in the machine “I’m not wearing it because you are here.”

He furrowed his brow “I don’t think I understand-”

“It’s has a woman’s body in lingerie printed on it.” you quickly said.

His eyes darted away from you his hand scratching the back of his neck “Oh.”

“A friend once gave it to me as a joke.” you shrugged your shoulders.

“But you were going to let me wear it.” he give you a lopsided grin.

You were trying hard not to laugh when you looked at him “But it would have looked so good on you, Dex.”

He rolled his eyes and sighed “Looks like those are done.” he nodded to the machine.

“Oh shit.” you quickly opened it and were glad to see they were not burned “Well, looks like we are done with these.”

“I was not expecting there to be this many.” his eyes wandered over the small mountain of waffles.

“Yeah, I should have warned you. I must have taken more of your time then you intended to spend here.” he must be tired after everything that happened today, and here he was, helping you bake a load of waffles. Or keeping you company while you were baking at least.

He quickly shook his head and looked at you “No. No, you… this was nice. It was nice spending time with you, (y/n).”

There was an genuineness in his voice and it made you warm inside. You suspected that he also missed something in his life. Perhaps the same thing you missed in yours, and this evening had indeed been fun. “I liked spending time with you too. It is more fun to do this stuff with someone you like. Less boring.”

His hand brushed over his shirt “That’s good to hear. Uh.. great.”

You clapped your hands together “Well, considering you have been such a helpfull hand today. You may choose the waffles you want.”

“Hell yeah.” he grinned at you.

You held up your hand “Oh wait. I’ll get you a plate so you can take the ones you choose with you. One sec.” you brushed passed him to the cupboard where the plates were and took a plate out. When you turned around and walked back you suddenly slipped on a small spot of dough that had ended up on the ground, you felt yourself lose your balance before Dex had one hand around your waist and one under your arm to keep you up. You put your hands on his upper arms as you regained your balance.


	8. The Waffle Tower

“You alright?” he breathed, his hands still holding you steady.

You nodded, your heart still racing. You felt the muscles tense on his arms under his shirt “Wow, you’ve got a lot of muscles.” the words tumbled out of your mouth.

His brows shot up as he looked you. He took a deep breath before a glorious smile found it’s way on his face.

You knew you were blushing now, what you didn’t notice was the pink shade that had grown on Dex’s cheeks as well.

You immediately released his arms and blurted out a “Sorry.”

He was the last to let go off you, after he made sure you were standing steady.

“Here.” you handed him the plate.

He nodded as he took the plate from your hand and turned to the waffles “I wonder if they are as good as those pancakes were.” he tilted his head slightly in your direction.

“They’re better.” you told him without hesistation.

“You seem pretty sure of that.” his mouth curved into a smirk.

“Taste one if you don’t believe me.” you took a waffle and held it out for him.

He muttered a quick ‘thanks’ before he took a bite, you crossed your arms as you waited for his reaction.

He chewed and swallowed, his brows shot up quickly in suprise once.

You looked at him in expectation and raised a brow at him “Well ? What do you think ?”

He turned to you, his eyes on the waffle he was holding “I think you’re right, these are good. Really good. Wanna share the recipe ?”

You scoffed, and started to put the used kitchen tools in the sink “No. I’ll be taking that with me to the grave.”

He looked like a hit puppy before the expression on his face changed again.

“Sorry, Dex. Besides, If I ever want to make this my real job, I’d better not start telling everyone the super secret recipe.” you winked at him as you spoke.

“There might be a good idea here.” he took another bite and pointed at you.

“I wish my mom had had the chance to make it a business. She once baked hundreds in a day to help out my school to raise money so the kids that couldn’t afford to go to camp with the classes could come anyway.”

His attention was on you now “I’m starting to believe it runs in the family.”

You gave him a confused expression “That  _what_  runs in my family ?”

He put down the waffle on the plate and placed his hands on the counter behind him as he leaned against it “Being good.”

You blinked a few times “Being good isn’t hereditary, Dex. It’s a choice. Perhaps I am like my mother. But if that’s the case then it is because I chose to be. I chose to be more like her.”

He crossed his arms in front of his chest as he let out a breath of air.

“Are you okay ?” your voice worried at his reaction.

He shook his head quickly and gave a half-smile “Yeah..I.. yeah.” his hand brushed over his jaw “So you believe people can choose to be good, to learn to be kind from others ?”

You nodded “Of course.”

“What if..” his eyes darted around the room, avoiding yours “What if they had done something bad, something  _really_ bad. Do you think there is still hope for someone like that ?”

You dried off your hands with the towel while you thought about his question. You couldn’t help but think back to your past as you did. “I… It depends, I guess.”

“On what ?” his voice was quieter.

“I mean, sometimes good people do bad things. Sometimes they are forced, or deceived into doing them. Wanting to be good is one thing, actively trying to be good is another. I believe there is hope for someone that did something really bad as long as their actions show that they indeed wish to be better.” you explained to him.

He looked at the ground as he listened to you, his arms now crossed in front of his chest.

“If you want an example..” you offered “Shaw, my ex, he did something really bad. He never apologized for anything, and he never stopped doing bad stuff. He would just blame it on someone else. He just didn’t care.”

Dex looked at you now “That the guy that caused that bruise and that cut ?”

You just nodded and turned around to the sink again.

“I would never hurt you..” he said it so quietly that you weren’t sure if you heard it. As if he was telling it to himself.

You looked at him from the corner of your eyes, not acknowledging what you believed he had said.

Both of you were silent for a while, both lost in thought until he broke the silence.

“I.. uh-” he stood straight now “I should be getting back to my place.”

“Oh.. of course. It must have been a strange day for you. First that ambush, and now you’re helping me with these.” you waved your hand in the direction of the mountain of waffles.

The corner of his mouth turned up a little “I did sign up for 'strange’ back at the coffee shop.”

You nodded in agreement “That you did.” giving him a smile. He walked to the door and you went to open it for him “This was fun.” you told him as he stepped past you.

He really smiled now as he nodded, glancing to the side before looking back at you “Yeah. I agree, this was great.”

“Listen, just so you know, if you ever want to talk or…” you started “I’m here for you, okay ?”

He gave a nod as he was fumbling with his jacket a bit. “Thank you and uh..that goes both way, (y/n).”

“Have a good evening, Dex.” you touched his arm in a reasuring manner. You wanted to hug him but figured he might not be comfortable with that and you weren’t going to spoil a nice evening.

“You too. And thanks again.” he took a breath “I’ll see you tomorrow ?” he asked hopefully.

“Tomorrow.” you answered and waved at him a little awkwardly as you closed the door.

Your arms were still crossed over your chest. This had been so nice, Dex was so nice.

He treated you like a human being, listened to you. Hell, even wanted to help you and risked getting covered in dough. Luckily he didn’t look like he got anything on him, you on the other hand looked like you were covered in it.

You turned around to head back to the sink to finish the dishes that had piled up when someone knocked on your door again.

Your brows drew together, that was strange considering you were not expecting anyone else and Mister Wilkinson was usually asleep at this hour.

You listened at the door to see if you could hear something, before you opened it a bit.

You were pretty suprised to see that it was Dex again.

“Wow, tomorrow came rather quickly.” you said sarcasticly and you saw how he chuckled nervously “Did you forget someth-”

“Would you like to go see a movie ?” he quickly spoke before he would lose the courage he had build up.

Your mouth fell open at his question “I..wha-.. now?”

He shifted awkwardly on his feet and avoided eye contact “Yeah. I understand if you don’t want to-”

“I’d love to.” You interupted him.

His shoulders heaved in relief and he finally looked you in the eyes. “Great, I’ll drive. And snacks are on me as well.”

You smiled widely “Awesome.” you grabbed your coat before you walked out and with him outside.


	9. The Non-Confirmed Date

You still couldn’t believe Dex actually asked you to go and see a movie with him, your conversation with Ally still fresh in your mind. Maybe she was right, maybe there was something different growing between you and Dex. You were waiting in line with him to buy some snacks to eat. His eyes fell on you often, and your wandered anywhere else when they did. None of you really knowing what to say. Was this a date ?

I mean, he didn’t mention it. He just asked if you wanted to go see a movie, so that’s not a date right ?

A strictly platonic evening out with a friend.

A really handsome friend.

A really handsome friend that you really liked. Oh no..

You looked at him, he was fidgeting with his wallet. Checking things two times, three times, four…

You drew a breath when you saw that he was nervous, perhaps even more then you were. Okay, this was a date. A real date. You looked at him again, a strand of his otherwise perfectly combed hair falling in front of his forehead. You stared at his facial features, wondering how the hell this guy was still single and how many women must be trying to catch his attention every day. And here you were, on a not verbally confirmed date with said guy. You looked down at your clothes, having forgotten all about the dough stains on them and one word went through your mind.  _Crap_.

“So, what would you like ?” he suddenly spoke and broke your trail of thought.

“Wh- what ?” you looked at him muddled.

His eyes fell on yours, it was too late to look away. His hazel eyes holding a power of your being.

The corner of his mouth turned up as you looked at him “I’m guessing popcorn.” his eyes broke from yours as he looked at the vendor “Right, (y/n) ?” he looked back to you for confirmation.

You snapped out of it “Oh! Yes, popcorn is great.”

Dex ordered the snacks and soon you were making your way into the auditorium. He was looking around the place when you spotted a good place to sit around the middle of the room.

“Over there !” you grabbed hold of his lower arm before you pulled him along with his hand to the  seats you had spotted. Only letting go of his hand as you passed the people already sitting down.

You reached the empty seats and you sat down, Dex taking place next to you.

He had asked you which movie you wanted to see, you had told him anything was good. You liked to be suprised when it came to movies. Sometimes the best movies where the ones you would never have picked out yourself.

You sank back in the chair and Dex watched you curiously.

“What ?” you questioned.

“ Should I worry that you are going to fall asleep ?” his mouth in a lopsided grin.

You chuckled “No, I wouldn’t do that to you. Don’t worry, Dex.” he relaxed in his seat “Besides, I still gotta eat all this popcorn and there’s no way in hell I’m going to fall asleep and wake up with an empty container.” you raised a brow at him now.

He shook his head at your comment, his grin growing wider. He suddenly reached over and took a piece of popcorn from your container and threw it in his mouth.

Your mouth fell open in fake shock “Did you just-”

“Now, I’m sure you’ll stay awake.” he swallows a laugh at your expression.

You narrowed your eyes at him and reached over to him, he must have known you were going to try and do the same thing he did because he held his popcorn container out of your reach.

“Damnit !” you only realised how close you were to him when the lights in the auditorium dimmed, you were leaning against him a bit and you could feel that he was tense.

You couldn’t look him in the eyes, he was too close and your heart was going too fast. You pulled yourself back in your seat, and waited for only a few seconds before you reached your hand to his side again in a second attempt to grab some of his popcorn.

He let out a chuckle at your second failed attempt as he once again held the container out of your reach.

“Nice try.” he whispered as the movie started.

“Thief.” you quietly whispered back.

You held your popcorn as far away from him as you could. Dex was holding in his laugh when he noticed it. The intro for the movie started and at the same time, a few rows in front of yours, someone in the audience was talking on his phone rather loud causing dismay to the people around him. He was ignoring them, and telling them rather rudely to leave him alone.

You groaned in frustration when the man was talking almost as loud as the sound of the movie.

“Can you believe this guy ?” you whispered to Dex.

Dex eyes focused on the container with popcorn he was holding, before he looked in the direction of the guy. A sly smirk growing on his face now.

He leaned closer to you his voice low “Want to see how I was able to take down the guy trying to steal your bag ?”

You looked at him confused but more then mildly curious “Uh…”

He shifted in his seat and lowered the container out of sight, nodding to you to do the same before he took some pieces of popcorn in his hand.

“Dex, what are you-”

He shushed you, you fell silent. His eyes scanning the room before fixing on the obnoxiously loud guy. He looked at you from the corner of his eyes “Sit back and watch this.” a devilish expression on his face.

You now looked at the loud guy, and you were starting to realise what he was planning on doing.

No way. No. No way in hell Dex could aim and hit him in a dark room filled with a bunch of other people. Nope.

But Dex aimed and in the blink of an eye he threw, the piece of popcorn flew too fast for your eyes to follow. You only saw the popcorn hit the back of the loud guy’s head.

You immediately sank back in your chair out of sight. Dex was more then amused by your reaction.

“I can’t believe you just did that ?? How in the hell-” you whispered but were cut off by the man now standing up and yelling for whoever threw popcorn at him.

“WHO THE FUCK JUST DID THAT ?!! WAS IT YOU ?!” the man pointed at another guy who was looking at him sheepishly.

Dex shifted in his seat and two more pieces of popcorn hit the guy in the face.

You could hear Dex snort at the man’s reaction.

You slapped Dex’s arm “Stop it. He’s going to figure out it was you.”

Dex looked at you “Don’t worry. I’m just teaching this guy a lesson in manners.”

The man was fuming and targeting someone he believed was the one throwing the popcorn at him.

“I KNOW IT WAS YOU ! WAIT ‘TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU !” he screamed at the innocent man.

“Dex, he’s threathening that innocent guy.” you were worried.

Dex nodded to you “You’re right. I should tell him he has the wrong guy.” he said it so casually that you had to process it in your head before you realised what he had just said.

“Wait, you what ?” you started but you were too late.

Dex didn’t move from his seat “Hey asshole, you got the wrong guy.” the angry man turned around and had a baffled expression when he saw how far Dex was actually sitting from him. Dex decided to proof his statement by throwing another piece of popcorn, which once more hit the guy right against the forehead.

You sank back further in your seat, how the hell could he throw that so well ? It was unnerving.

The angry guy blinked a few times before he started making his way over to where you and Dex were sitting.

“Shit! Dex, he’s coming over here. We gotta go. Now.” you panicked and grabbed your jacket.

Dex’s hand landed on your arm “Everything’s going to be okay, (y/n).” his voice calming you.

You sat back in the chair.

The man approached, fuming with anger. Dex didn’t move a muscle, there were zero signs that he felt intimidated by the guy.

“HEY DID YOU CALL ME A -” the man froze and stopped dead in his tracks.

Dex had discreetly yet visibly pulled out his badge and was showing it in the guys direction. He didn’t look into the guy’s direction once as he did.

“Do yourself a favor. Walk away.” Dex made the last two words sound like a warning. A very intimidating warning. His jaw was tense as he waited for the man to leave.

The man looked around him and back to Dex, he was silent. The man might be muscular build but something about Dex’s attitude must have scared him off as he left the auditorium in silence.

“THANKS, PAL !!!” Some people shouted in your direction, most likely aimed at Dex for getting the guy to leave.

You sat back up in your chair, you saw the muscles in his hand relaxing.

“Do they teach you that in the FBI ?” your voice was quiet, adrenaline still rushing through you.

He looked at you “Teach what ?”

“How to talk in a way so intimidating that it just scares off guys build like a wrestler ?” your eyes darted across the room.

He shook his head avoiding your eyes “No, not really.”

You fumbled with your popcorn. You wanted to ignore the feeling you felt, but you couldn’t. Your instincts were trying to tell you something, but you couldn’t place it.

“We should start actually watching the movie before they start throwing popcorn at us.“  
"I’ll just show them my badge too then. Seems to work.”  
“You know, I am starting to think you are looking for a reason to keep showing that thing off.”  
“Says the one who asked to see it not so long ago.” he countered, focusing his eyes on the screen.

Instead of giving him a snarky reply you quickly moved your hand and were able to grab a big handful of his popcorn. You didn’t hesitate to stuff some in your mouth. The look on his face almost made you burst out into laughter.

“What’s wrong, Dex ? Were you going to throw the rest at people as well ?” you asked innocently.

He opened his mouth but closed it again, swallowing whatever it was that he was going to say.

He just nodded to himself and moved his popcorn container further out of your reach again.


	10. Breaking Walls

You two sat in silence as you watched the movie. The movie wasn’t bad, it looked like a comedy but at some point the story took an unexpected turn. You were chewing your last piece of popcorn when a scene in the movie made your heartbeat spike. Thinking to yourself that it was a comedy, you were not expecting the twist. The male main character was talking to the female in a way that was but too familiar to you. He spoke in a demeaning, threathening way to her. You swallowed, your hand grasping the seat handle a bit.

The sound of his hand striking her made you jump in your seat. Dex’s attention was on you right away. You avoided his worried questioning look as you pushed yourself off of the chair.

“Y/n ?” he was about to stand up too but you stopped him.

“I just need to use the restroom. I’ll be back.” you quickly told him, hoping your voice was not shaking. Hoping he didn’t notice you shaking.

He nodded, the alarmed expression still visible in his features.

You made your way out of the auditorium as quickly as you could and found the restrooms not long after.

You placed your hands on the sink for support as you took some deep breaths to get your heart to slow down again. When your eyes fell on your reflection in the mirror, you saw how all the color had drained from your face. A tear fell from your face and you turned on the cold water, splashing it in your face to calm down. The scene in the movie was unexpected and it made your memories come crashing through the mental barrier that you had build, like a Trojan horse.

You were having a great time and now you were hiding in a damn restroom, you felt angry at yourself for letting it get to you. For letting it spoil a great evening. But there was one person you were more angry at, the one that caused this, Shaw.

You wiped your face dry before you left the restroom.

“Y/n ?”

The sound of Dex’s voice made you turn around “Dex ? …You’re missing the movie.”

You hoped he wouldn’t notice but you were still pale, and the spilled water on your sweater would pretty much be a dead giveaway.

“Yeah, well. So are you.” he walked over to you, focusing on you as he got closer. The way he looked at you made it clear he knew something was amiss. “(y/n), I’m sorry.”

You looked at him confused “For what ?”

He sighed averting his eyes for only a moment “I didn’t know that was in the movie.”

Your eyes fell “It’s okay. I…It just suprised me. The man in the movie sounded exactly like Shaw right before he would hit me.”

Dex nodded in understanding “You don’t have to tell me, (y/n)..” he pauzed, searching for the right way to say it “But , I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

You held your form as you nodded “Thank you.” you sighed and shook your head “I can’t believe that asshole still gets to me, even if he isn’t here.”

You bit your lip as you felt your eyes sting, you felt he had broken something inside of you and you hated it.

Dex stepped closer to you, his hand on your arm now “You want me to take you home ?”

You just nodded.

“Alright, I’ll take you home.” he guided you outside, his hand on the back of your upper arm.

“I’m sorry, Dex. It feels like I ruined a great date.” it took you a bit too long to realise the mistake in your words.

Dex was silent for a few seconds as he walked with you to the car “You didn’t ruin it, (y/n).” he finally reasured you.

You had expected him to correct you on the ‘date’ part and you were glad and suprised he didn’t.

What suprised you even more is how his fingers touched your back lightly as he opened the car door for you.

The drive wasn’t long, the both of you didn’t say much but the silence was not uncomfortable.

You were almost home when you remembered something “Hey, do you have a pen and something to write on in here ?”

He glanced over at you “Yeah, in there.” he nodded to the glove compartment.

You took out a pen and a small sticky note and wrote on it before you pulled it off and sticked it onto the car’s dashboard.

He looked at you and the note quickly “What’s that ?”

“My number.” you gave him a shy smile “I know we live in the same building, but it could be usefull.” you casually said.

He looked at the sticky note again and you could see a smile forming on his face in the dim light of the car. He took the sticky note and putted it in the pocket of his jacket, his eyes not breaking away from the road “Thanks.”

“No problem.” you looked at him, a grin on his face at this point “Just don’t track my phone, you know.”

He looked at you a bit too quickly, as if you caught him or something before he relaxed and let out a nervous chuckle “ I’m afraid I am too busy guarding a high risk prisoner at work to  _track_ your phone. No offence.” he smirked at you.

“None taken. You didn’t tell me you were guarding a high risk prisoner. Who is it ?” you questioned.

You saw him him get tense after you asked it.

He shrugged his shoulders a bit “Just some asshole feeding information to the FBI. Can’t really talk about it. I’m sorry, (y/n).”

“I get it. It’s okay.” you assured him.

A few minutes later you were walking to your apartment door and unlocked it.

You walked inside as Dex was hesitant to follow you. Throwing your jacket on a chair you grabbed the plate with waffles and walked back to Dex at the door.

“Here.” You handed him the plate before you thought about something “Wait !” you exclaimed before you hurried back into your kitchen, earning a confused look from Dex.

You grabbed a plastic container and put a bunch of waffles in it before you hurried back to Dex.

He looked so confused and you grinned at him as you held up the container filled with waffles to him “For your colleagues at work.”

He took the container and balanced the plate on it as well “Already advertising these, huh ?” he smirked.

“Damn. You got me. Free edible advertisement for my future baking business.” your voice sarcastic.

He snorted at your answer “Well, these will make me pretty popular at work tomorrow.”

“I’m sure you probably are already popular at work.” the words tumbled out of your mouth.

He blinked a few times “And why do you think that ?”

Shit. Shit. Shit. You tapped your fingers on your door trying to find a way to talk yourself out of that one.

“I mean. I- …you’re..” you motioned your hand in his direction and stammered as he looked at you curiously.

You sighed in defeat “Damnit.”

“(Y/n)?” he sounded a bit worried now.

You crossed your arms in front of you “How can you not be popular, Dex ?” you shrugged avoiding his stare “I mean… you  _are_  really handsome.”

You wanted the floor to swallow you whole now.

“Uh..” Dex’s mouth went open but no words came out. He looked even more confussed.

“Anyway.” you broke the silence, hoping to prevent the situation turning more awkward then it already had “I should head inside, I wanted to check online for a job in the neighbourhood. So uh..”

He snapped out of it “Yeah. I-” he nodded calmer “Have fun ?”

You laughed at that “I will. Thank you. Enjoy the waffles. And thank you for today.” you smiled softly.

His eyes locked on yours “You’re welcome. Goodnight, (y/n).”

Did you imagine it or did his voice sound deeper ?

“Goodnight, Dex.” you said as you closed the door.

Your heart was racing, palms sweating.

Two months ago you were still living in a nightmare and now it felt like it was turning into a dream.

In those months Shaw had not found or contacted you once. He easily could have found you if he really wanted to. And you believed he might have moved on with his life. His shitty, murdering, waste of life. If he even was alive considering his life was filled with criminals.

This could be your chance, your opportunity to have a life.


	11. Maybe Too Smart

The next day you were going through job advertisements on your phone when someone knocked on your door.

It couldn’t be Dex, you saw him leave for work earlier when you went to get your mail.

And you had passed Mister Wilkinson on the way back up as he was leaving to go to the park with Nancy.

It was soon clear who it was when a familiar voice called out to you “It’s me !”

You opened the door with a smug look “You are very persistent in trying to sell me cookies, huh ? ”

Ally rolled her eyes at your comment “ Very funny. Can I come in ?”

“Yup.” you stepped aside to let her pass.

“Saw you sneak out with the fed.” she said as she looked around the kitchen.

You liked Ally, it was as if she had no fear when it came to conversation.

You shut the door “I wasn’t  _sneaking_  out.” you objected.

“So, what did you do with  _your_  special agent.” she kept looking around the kitchen.

You let out a chuckle “He’s not  _my_ special agent. He is an official Special Agent.” you corrected her even though you knew she just said it to mess with you. “And you can find what you’re looking for in there.” you pointed to the fridge and she nodded at you sheepishly before she opened it and grabbed a waffle.

“Uhuh. So this is like what ? The second time you went out with him ?” she asks.

You sat down at the table “Well technically, we were both already out the first time. Considering I was jogging and he was jogging and we just ended up in that whole bag thief thing…”

She scoffed and chuckled as she took a bite from the waffle “Oh boy. You are trying so hard.”

“What ?” you looked up at her confused.

She threw her head back in frustration “Why can’t you just admit it ? You like him. And yesterday you two went on a date. Am I right ?”

This girl was smart for her age. Too smart maybe.

“I didn’t realise it was a date at first. Only figured that out when he was buying the popcorn.”

“Seriously ?” she snorted as he held back her laughter.

“I know. I know. I am terrible at this aren’t I ?” you looked at her.

She sat down as well “Nah, just a bit slow.”

“Thanks.” you huffed.

“You’re welcome. But hey, here’s the interesting part.” she looked like she had a secret to share.

You eyed her curiously “And what’s that ?”

“I never saw him around another woman. Not once since he moved in here. But then you move in and * poof * this guy’s drawn to you like a magnet or something.” she took another bite.

You thought about that for a moment “ I wonder why, though.” Ally raises a brow “I mean. Why would a guy like him be interested in me ? I don’t even have a job yet. Let’s be real here, he’s handsome, has a good job, and on top of that he’s great. And I just…” you stopped.

“Just what ?” she quickly asked.

You thought for a moment before you spoke “I just got out of a bad relationship.”

She nodded “That cut on your face ?”

You nodded in confirmation.

She fumbled with a napkin “Well, for all it’s worth. I think you’re really nice, I mean, you always feed me when I’m here. Perhaps this guy realises you’re something special. Weird, but special.”

You raised a brow “I’m not sure if I should feel flattered or insulted ?”

She laughed as she jumped of the chair “The latter. I gotta go, should be heading back to school, lunchbreak is almost over.”

“Good luck in school today.” you told her as she walked to the door and she stopped in her tracks.

“Wow. I haven’t heard anyone say that to me in years.” the sadness in her voice made you look up at her.

“Well, I mean it.” you smiled warmly.

She looked over her shoulder and shouted “Thanks for the waffle !” as she walked out the door and shutted it behind her.

 

You were drinking some nice warm coffee when your phone rang. You didn’t recognize the number but then again, only very few people had your number.

You took the call and heard Dex’s voice.

“(Y/n) ?” he enquired.

“Dex, hi !” you felt cheerful at the sound of his voice.

“Hey, listen, are you doing anything this afternoon ?”

Your fingers tapped the mug as you replied “Nope. Why ?”

“Good. Why don’t you come to the presidential hotel today ?” he sounded confident.

Your brows drew together “Dex.. why do you want me to meet you at a hotel ?”

It must have taken him a few seconds to realise how it must have sounded to you.

“I- I, well it’s where we are working currently. I thought maybe you might be interested in seeing how we operate. Meet the colleagues ?” he explained a bit more nervous and you held back a small laugh.

It was an interesting proposal. Your ex never talked about his work, kept it all a secret. And here was Dex, inviting you to see the workplace and curiousity got the best of you.

“I’d love to. But, are you sure that’s even allowed ? I don’t want to get arrested or something, Dex.”

You heard him laugh “Come on, I won’t let that happen.”

“Dex..” you were suspicious.

He sighed “I asked permission, they gave it. Guess those waffles bought your way into the FBI.”

He sounded genuine so you believed it was okay “Alright. I’ll come.”

“Awesome. I’ll meet you in the lobby. Text me when you’re here, alright ?” Dex sounded excited.

“Alright. Got it. See you soon.” you ended the call.

Now you wondered if you actually had clothes that were suited for the situation. You were sure you would stick out if you walked in there wearing your usuall attire, it was a classy hotel after all.

You opened the still unpacked box that held your clothes and pulled out a dress that went just below your knees. It wasn’t a new dress, but it would have to do.

 _Good enough_ you thought.

You got dressed and grabbed a plate with some waffles before you left to meet up with Dex at the hotel.

You walked to Mister Wilkinson door and knocked.

He opened the door and you smiled at him “Hi, Bob. Got you these. Brought some for Nancy as well.”

He clapped his hands together in excitement “Oh my, how kind of you ! Thank you, (y/n) !”

You shrugged it off “Don’t mention it. I always bake loads when I make them. You should see me trying to figure out how much pasta I should cook, it never ends well.”

He laughed at your comment “We all have our flaws, I’m just happy baking isn’t yours. Nancy will love these.”

“I have to go, but say ‘hi’ to Nancy for me ?” you said.

“I will. Have a good day !” he shouted as you walked away.

“You too !” you shouted over your shoulder to him.


	12. Dancing Mice

You took the bus to the hotel, walking the last few streets before reaching the hotel. You were almost there when a snowflake fell on you, you looked up to the sky and saw more of them were falling.

Maybe it would have been a good idea to bring your coat, but then again, you were not expecting snow at all. The fabric of the dress swayed on your body as you ran a bit to reach the hotel before the snowfall got worse.

As you walked closer you saw protesters outside the place, you couldn’t hear what they were shouting about. There were reporters as well and one of them you recognized. Karen Page.

“Miss (l/n) ?” you hear someone shout behind you and you stopped in your tracks, turning around to face the unfamiliar voice.

“Uhm..yes.” you saw a dark-haired woman approach you.

She held out her hand to you and you shook it “I’m Special Agent Alvarez. Dex asked me to meet you here, he feared you might not want to push your way through the mob over there.” she tilted her head in the direction of the protesters. “Follow me, I’ll get you inside the hotel safely.”

“Oh, uh. Thank you Agent Alvarez.” you said a bit suprised as you followed her.

She opened a door for you to walk inside the building, you took note of another agent who seemed to be on guard at the door.

She closed the door as she walked next to you now “So, You’re the  _‘waffle girl’_  our new hero is talking about, huh?”

You scoffed “What ?” you looked at her curiously.

She chuckled a little “Dex brought in those delicious waffles you made, now everytime he mentions you, people call you the 'waffle girl’ .”

You shook your head at her explanation “Really ?”

“Yup.” she says as she shows her badge to another guard before he lets the both of you pass.

“Out of curiousity, why did you just call him a hero ?” you caught her specific choice of words.

“Dex didn’t tell you ? Did he tell you about the ambush of our convoy recently ?” she seemed suprised at your lack of knowledge on the matter.

“He did tell me about how the FBI convoy was ambushed and that agents were killed.” you quickly added.

She had a pained expression for a moment before the smile returned to her face “More could have died if Dex hadn’t been there, you know ? He took out a bunch of the attackers on his own. Saved a bunch of lives.”

Your mouth fell open, why hadn’t Dex told you that ? “ On his own ? ”

She nodded “Yup, last man standing. Guess we’re lucky he’s a good shot.”

You thought back to the times Dex had displayed his talent for aiming “ I’ve noticed. So, Dex talks about me at work then ?” you were fishing for more information and by the way she looked at you, you knew she looked straight through it.

“He does.” she smiled at you “ Poor Lim has to hear about you all the time apparently. Honestly, you were not what I expected.”

You were sure you were blushing “What were you expecting ?”

She looked at you again “Well, I was expecting someone less dainty. No offence of course.” she quickly added.

“I understand what you mean. I never thought that Dex would even notice me. I’m so different compared to him.” you brushed your hand over your dress.

She walked into the elevator and you stepped in too as she pressed the button “Perhaps that’s the thing.” she raised a brow and smirked “Opposites attract.”

You looked around the elevator awkwardly “We’re just friends though.”

The elevator stopped and opened “Sure.” Alvarez said as she walked out.

You stepped out as well and saw a bunch of FBI agents going about their business. Some looked at you, some nudged their colleagues as they seemed to say something to eachother. You furrowed your brow at their odd reactions. It was weird, they must have expected you today, right ?

You saw Alvarez give them a look and it made them look away from you.

“I guess I look out of place..” you muttered.

She looked a bit nervous now “Don’t worry about them.” something drew her attention “LIM !”

You followed her gaze and saw a man approaching whom you assumed must have been Agent Lim, the guy who had to hear Dex talk about you.

“Alvarez.” he took a quick look at you. “Who’s this ? I thought civilians-”

“(y/n) !” Dex’s voice interupted Lim’s words “You made it.” he stood next to you now.

“I said I would.” you smiled at him.

“Thanks Alvarez, I appreciate the help.” Dex’s nodded gratefully to Alvarez.

“It’s the least I could do considering you saved my husband’s life in that ambush.” she said as she walked away.

Dex hadn’t really talked to you about what happened in that ambush, and now you were very curious what it was that happened exactly. You wanted to ask him but he spoke again before you could.

“I see you’ve met Lim.” Dex motioned his hand in Lim’s direction “Lim, this is (y/n). I’ve told you about her.”

Lim had an amused expression now “That you did.” he said and you could see Dex get nervous “So this is the pancake girl you keep on talking about, huh ?” Lim said as you shook his hand.

You held back a laugh “Okay, I thought people called me 'waffle girl’.”

Dex straightened his back and you could see how awkward this must be for him.

“Yeah. But Dex over here called you that the day he met you. Told me about the strange girl asking people for eggs.” Lim explained as he watched Dex’s reactions.

You looked at him in fake offence.

Dex glared at him “That’s not what I said, Lim.”

Lim let out a laugh “Yeah, but it’s funnier. Relax, Dex. I mean no harm.” he raised his hands in surrender.

You nudged Dex’s arm “He means no harm, and it’s okay. It  _is_  pretty funny when you think about it.” you put your attention back on Lim “So, Agent Lim. What else did Dex say about me ?”

Lim seemed to enjoy messing with Dex “Well-”

“Alright. I’m sure you still got that thing you were working on. Maybe go do that ?” Dex interupted him and Lim looked at him with a shit-eating grin.

“Ah yes. I almost forgot about that  _thing.”_ Lim said and it was clear Dex did not want him to tell you what Dex had been telling Lim “It was nice to meet you, (y/n). You two have  _fun_.” Lim walked to were Alvarez had headed but you could hear him say  _'when the cat’s away, the mice will play’_  to Dex as he walked past him and you saw Dex tense for a moment. You ignored the comment, but you were starting to worry.

“Sorry about that.” Dex looked at you sheepishly “Lim was trying to mess with me. Make me look bad.”

You smiled softly “I know, Dex. It was clear to me that that was what he was doing.” you looked at him and noticed how damn good he looked in his suit “Besides, it’s really hard to make  _you_ look bad. Nice suit, you look great in that.” Your mind wandered off and you almost instinctivly brushed your hand over the fabric on his chest to straighten it out. You snapped out of it and pulled your hand back.

He brushed his hand on his suit as well now, a content smile spread on his face and his eyes locked on yours “You..uh..” he brushed his hand over his chin “You look great by the way.”

You noted how he wasn’t just complementing your clothes.

You felt your cheeks turn pink “So, You were going to give me a tour ?”

He nodded and put a hand on your back, it made a shiver go down your spine and you clenched your hand.

 

He showed you around the place, and it made you laugh when the two of you entered a room where Lim was and Dex smoothly made the two of you turn back around.

You saw how the FBI worked, some were talking about the protesters outside. You wandered off on your own a little until you felt Dex’s hand taking hold of your arm, you looked at him in suprise.

“Can’t go further then this. I don’t want you getting near that penthouse over there.” his tone was serious.

“Dex, why are there protesters outside the hotel ?” you asked him.

“They are out there because of the scumbag in there.” he tilted his head in the direction of two large doors.

You thought for a moment “The prisoner they were transporting when the ambush happened ? He’s here ? They are keeping him in a hotel ?” a flood of questions went through your mind.

He kept his hand on your arm, not letting you move an inch closer to those doors “Yes. Apparently he’s snitching on other criminals. They attacked him in prison, for obvious reasons and the FBI put him in house arrest. He’s under surveillance constantly so you don’t have to be scared, alright ?”

“Dex… I heard the protesters mention the prisoner but I missed what his name was.” you were starting to get a bad feeling, something had been there just out of reach and you felt it was important.

He rubbed a hand over his jaw and mouth evading your stare before he looked at you “We’re guarding Wilson Fisk.”


	13. Bad White Lies

Your heart stopped when you heard the name being spoken. The same name that had once been spoken by Shaw right before he shot a man. A man that had failed a task from Fisk.

You felt like you couldn’t breath, you needed to get out of there, away from those doors.

Dex had noticed your complexion turning pale and the smile fading from your lips “ (y/n) ? What’s wrong ?” he sounded alarmed.

You tried to pull yourself out of his grip when someone approached the both of you.

“Dex !” a darkhaired man called out as he walked up to the both of you.

“Ray.” Dex greeted him before looking at you worried again. You avoided looking at him, you just want to get out of there quickly.

“Excuse me Miss, I’m afraid I don’t know who you are.” he said and that pulled your attention.

“This is my friend, (y/n) (l/n), Ray. I uh.. I’m giving her a tour. ” you could hear that Dex was stressed.

“Miss (l/n), pleasure to meet you. I’m Special Agent Ray Nadeem.” he introduced himself to you and shook your hand.

Agent Nadeem turned his attention back to Dex “Dex, why… did you get permission to bring her here ? Does Hattley know ?”

You looked up at Dex confused now, he told you he had permission to bring you along.

Dex tried to answer him “ It’s not like (y/n) forms a threat, Ray. And I haven’t let her out of my sight.”

You were shocked now. He had lied to you, you were not even supposed to be here. You pulled your arm out of his grip and he looked at you with worry.

You gritted your teeth in silent anger, you couldn’t believe he would lie about such a thing.

“This is not a zoo, Dex ! ” Agent Nadeem said in authoritative tone

“You sure about that, Ray. We  _are_  guarding a dangerous animal.”  
“Dex, you can’t just bring civilians up here. You need to get her out of here before Hattley sees her.”   the Agent said as he nervously looked around, probably on the lookout for this ‘Hattley’ person.

Dex was about to speak but you ignored him and spoke up “I apologize for any inconvenience my presence here might have caused, Agent Nadeem. I will leave immediately.” you shook his hand again and walked away without looking at Dex even when you heard him call out your name.

You were angry that he had lied, you had spend enough time with someone who lied to you. You could have gotten into serious trouble. Not only that but you were mere meters away from Wilson Fisk. A killer, a criminal mastermind who Shaw had killed for. It was too close for comfort, you had to get out of there. As you walked in the elevator and pushed the button you saw Special Agent Nadeem talk to Dex, Dex’s attention however was on you. The last thing you saw before the doors closed was the panic in Dex’s eyes.

This time you walked out through the front of the hotel, not giving a shit about the protesting going on outside. You made your way through the crowd when you heard Dex calling out for you again.

“ (y/n) ! Wait, please !” he shouted for you but you continued to walk away.

You heard him running after you and you stopped as you turned to face him.

He held up his hand in surrender, his chest heaving from the running. His eyes frantic as he kept his distance from you. “(y/n), please. Look, I am sorr-”

You counted to ten before you let the waterfall of words fall from you “I can’t believe you lied to me. What the hell, Dex ? You bring me here, where they keep Wilson freaking Fisk and you take me to meet your colleagues who had no idea what I was even doing there. Why, Dex ? Hell, they could have arrested me !”

“They wouldn’t have arrested you, I would never allow that to happen.” he brushed a hand over his chin “I wasn’t lying, I just.. didn’t want you to worry. I wanted you to have fun and see what it’s like.. what I do.”

“I was having fun, Dex. But you made me believe I was allowed there when I clearly was not.” you shook your head “Maybe you didn’t lie, but you did hide the truth from me. Something my ex was really good at.”

He blinked his eyes a couple of times and let out a breath. Your words hurting him as they reached his ears.

“Dex… I just want you to be honest to me.” your voice was softer now “He lied to me about who he was, and what he did. He put up a facade and in the end, I don’t think I ever really knew him. I don’t want that to happen again. I don’t want that to happen with..you. Ever since I met you, you treated me like an equal, but today you….” you swallowed the pain “.. today you told me not to worry and I believed you. And then I had to hear the truth when your boss confronted you. You didn’t tell me the truth, and I wonder, if Agent Nadeem hadn’t brought the lie into the light… would you have told me?”

He took a step closer but you took a step back, you could see the hurt in his eyes but you stood your ground.

“Just… Call me when you’re ready to be honest with me.” you told him and he looked down as he nodded.

You turned away from him and walked away, this time he didn’t follow you.

 

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dex swallowed, your words still echoeing in his mind. You were right, he knew you were. He hadn’t told you about what he had done, or about the demons that were always lurking in the back of his mind. His actions could have gotten you into trouble and if Ray hadn’t showed up, he wouldn’t have told you the truth either.

The elevator doors opened again and Ray approached him as he walked out.

“Dex. Look, I’m sorry. But if Tammy would have seen her here, she would have skinned you alive. We’re all on edge already. Bringing in civilians like that just isn’t a good idea.” Ray pinched the bridge of his nose as he explained it.

Dex nodded in understanding. Ray had a point, it was a bad idea. It should have been clear to him when he didn’t look for a minute and you were too close to the penthouse were they kept that scumbag. He had seen the color drain from your cheeks when he mentioned Fisk’s name. The scared look on your face made him regret taking you anywhere near the place.

“It’s alright, Ray. You’re right, I did a stupid thing.” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Your words still burning in his mind, scratching at his anxiety.

“So..” Ray nodded in Dex’s direction “Was that the girl you mentioned ?”

He cleared his throat “Uh.. yeah… that was her.”

“And she lives in your apartment building ?” Ray asked him.

“Yeah. She moved in not long ago.” Dex thought back to the day he met you. How your smile seemed to light up the entire place. A world of difference with the look he had seen in your eyes only minutes ago.

Ray smiled and patted him on the shoulder “Don’t sweat it. I’m sure things will work out between you two. If you want my advice, flowers are usually a good start.”

Dex nodded, that did sound like a solid idea “Thanks Ray. I appreciate it.”

Ray let out a soft chuckle “Another piece of advice, don’t wait too long if you really like her. With her looks, it wouldn’t be long before someone else steals her away.”

Dex’s small smile disappeared when he thought about it, losing you. He was going to take Ray’s advice on the matter.

Ray looked away and Dex followed his stare and saw three men approaching.

“Good evening, gentlemen. I hope I am not interupting your conversation.” one of them said. All of them were dressed in expensive looking suits. Dex noted the scar on the face of the one who had spoken.

Ray appeared to be as confused as Dex was “Good evening. Sorry, but I have to ask, who are you and why are you here.”

Dex now watched the men like a hawk, it was strange that Ray had no idea who these men were and that he was unaware of why they were here.

“Oh please forgive my rudeness, the name’s Reed. You must be Special Agent Nadeem. I was not aware that Special Agent Hattley had not informed you of my visit. I came here to speak to Mister Fisk, on his request. I have recieved the authority to do so from Special Agent Hattley.”

Ray looked at Dex, his eyes quickly looking at the men behind Reed “If I may, Mister Reed, why exactly does Mister Fisk wish to speak to you ?”

Dex saw how the men behind this guy didn’t speak or joined the conversation. They were staring at him just as he was staring at them.

“I am afraid that is confidential, Special Agent Nadeem.” the man said a bit irritated.

Dex was about to ask him to answer the damn question when Hattley walked up.

“Mister Reed. I wasn’t expecting you to be early. I apologize. Mister Fisk is waiting in the penthouse, if you would please follow me.” she spoke and gave both Ray and Dex a glare.

“No need to apologize, Special Agent Hattley. I understand how hectic it must be, leading all this agents.” Reed brushed of her apologies before he turned once more to Ray “It was nice to meet you, Agents. I understand your distrust towards my men and I in these stressfull times.” he held out his hand and Ray reluctantly shook it.

Dex didn’t expect the man to offer him his hand as well and he hesitated an awfully long moment before he did. One thing was sure, he didn’t like that slick asshole one bit.

“Lead the way, Agent Hattley.” Reed gave her a smile and he followed her into the penthouse.


	14. Cage Of Gold

You had trouble falling asleep that night. Thoughts wandering back to the events of the day, as you tried to get comfortable under your sheets again for the tenth time. The moment you had become upset with Dex, you knew he had meant well, that he invited you to see how the FBI works from up close because you had shown interest in it before. But when you realised the FBI was guarding Wilson Fisk in the hotel, it was like an alarm had started to go off in your head. Like a fight or flight response. Being so close to a man that knew your ex was far outside your comfort zone. You were angry, afraid and upset. You felt pushed in a corner, trapped like a rat. And on top of that you found out Dex had lied to you, or at least hidden the fact that you were not even allowed in that area.

Why didn’t he just tell you ? Why wait until his boss confronts him about it ?

You adjusted your pillow again. You were also angry at yourself for telling him he did what your ex always did, because Dex was nothing like him. You turned under the sheets again, Dex had looked so happy when he was showing you around, introducing you to his colleagues. He didn’t treat you like you were a brainless thing, only there to be looked at. No. He treated you like a person, he listened to you, to your opinion and even to your ramblings.

He had even mentioned you to his colleagues before, to the point where they teased him about it.

Was there a chance he saw you as more then just a friend ?  Was him taking you to see a movie and showing you his workplace his way of showing it ? Did he want you in his life ?

In the dark side of your mind you wondered if it was out of pitty. You quickly banished the thought.

Had he really called you the ‘Pancake girl’ when he spoke of you ?

You thought back to Ally and how Dex had believed her to be a girl scout and it made you smile a little.

You hugged your pillow, wishing you could take back what you said about him being like Shaw. Wishing you hadn’t lashed out like that, mostly due to the stress you were feeling.

Dex’s intentions had been good, you realised that your past experiences had caused you to react the way you did. Dex was not Shaw, he was nothing like him. With Dex you could be a person, you could be your strange bubbly self and he accepted you for who you were. Shaw only saw you as his possesion, a pretty thing to put on his shelf. A pretty thing to blame things on. A pretty thing to lock in a golden cage, to never set free again.

Slowly you drifted off into sleep hoping the nightmares would stay away, but they never really did.

 

 

 

 

_2 Months earlier.._

 

_The evening had started like it always did. You were eating dinner at the table with Shaw. There was tension in the air, he knew you had tried to contact a friend. One of his workers had discovered you while you were trying to make a call with a phone you had managed to steal from one of the guards. His calm attitude was but a facade to hide the storm that was about to begin. Your arm was still hurting from the day before, the bruises left by his grip now clear on your skin, leaving you to use your other hand to eat instead of the one you would usually use._

_None of you spoke, it was better to stay quiet. A lost hope that it would calm his temper._

_On the outside he was the definition of beauty, on the inside he was nothing but a beast._

_You knew it was a futile attempt to escape this house, this golden cage, but you would die here if you didn’t try._

_The house Shaw owned was anything but modest, any other person would have loved to live here. Many rooms, guest rooms, multiple bathrooms, a pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna, a big garden surrounded by walls. And those walls were under surveillance every day, every hour, for every minute._

_You knew they were, he had told you the day he brought you here. The day after you had discovered what kind of person he really was. The day his facade faltered._

_He could have killed you, he should have, but his twisted mind convinced him otherwise. He 'kept’ you._

_Like a bird in a cage of gold, to never be free again. To depend on him to survive. And he got a kick out of that._

_He didn’t look at you as he ate, you barely managed to take a bite from your food. Your throat felt thight._

_Would he kill you today ? Was he finally getting bored of you ?_

_You had hoped he would get bored of you, that he would find someone else and let you go free. But with each passing day that hope grew smaller._

“ _Would you be so kind as to pass me the salt, darling.” his voice snapped you out of your thoughts._

_You didn’t look at him when you took the small salt shaker and passed it to him._

_His hand was around your wrist fast and your heart jumped in your throat._

_You still didn’t look at him as he held your wrist firmly, too firm._

_He took the salt shaker from your hand as he leaned close to you “Thank you, Darling. After dinner, we should talk about what you did today. I told you not to contact anyone without my permission.”_

_He smiled at you as he let go of your wrist that was hurting now._

_A smile that could fool anyone into believing he was a nice guy, it had fooled you too once, but now you knew better. And all his smile did was make you more afraid then you already were._

_You felt the panic build inside you, and it threathened to take over._

“ _Please excuse me.” you uttered as you quickly stood._

_But he was fast when he stood, alert, he always was._

_His hand grabbed your lower arm and held you in place “Where is my little dove flying off to so fast ?”_

_You swallowed before you spoke “Just the restroom.”_

_He didn’t let go of your arm and you finally looked at his face, his angelic features were not enough to hide his anger beneath it “Before you do, I want you to tell me who you were trying to call today.”_

_You stayed calm and tried to keep your voice steady, you would never name your friend. She would be dead by tomorrow if you did “A friend, I was feeling lonely”_

_Your answer didn’t please him, he hated it when you evaded his questions._

_He let out a sigh, and he let go off your arm, which suprised you and thinking back, it should have warned you about what came next._

_In a flash his fist had struck your face hard, you fell to your knees. You held your face and felt the cut the hit had caused below your eye. You didn’t want to cry, but the blow was unexpected and you felt a sob escape you._

_One of his workers looked down at you, they were used to seeing him hit you, but even he looked suprised. Perhaps even disgusted. Shaw kneeled down next to you and you didn’t move._

“ _Why did you make me so angry, (y/n) ? If you felt lonely, you only had to ask for me.” he touched your hair and another sob escaped you “You will learn, I suppose.”_

“ _Sir, there seems to be trouble downstairs. One of the guards has been found unconcious.” the man told him._

_He stood up from the ground and grabbed your arm, pulling you roughly from the ground before he directed his attention to one of the guards “Take her to our room. Stay with her there.” the guard took hold of your shoulder._

_Shaw pointed at the other guard “You. You’re coming with me, we are going to the armory.”_

_The guard took you to the room you shared with Shaw and when he shut the door a gunshot was heard._

“ _What was that ? Is someone here?” you asked the guard._

_He looked at you, the guards were not actually allowed to speak to you much, let alone answer your questions._

_More gunshots were heard and you looked at the guard in fear “Please, tell me what’s going on !”_

_He listened to the earpiece he was wearing “Someone is here, Miss. He took down some of our guards. Don’t worry, whoever they are, they won’t make it over here alive.”_

_You shook your head as the gunshots became more frequent “He? One person is taking down the guards ? Is it a cop?” you felt hope, if this was a raid you might have a chance to escape this hell._

“ _No, Miss. It’s not a cop. Please step further into the room and away from the door and windows.” the guard seemed nervous and that was enough to make it clear to you that this was serious._

_You did as you were told and you heard the sound of a struggle close to the door now. Whoever it was that had intruded in the house, they were now right outside the door seperating the bedroom from the hallway._

_The guard cursed and pulled the gun from his holster and clicked the safety off “Miss, Get down.” he whispered to you._

_You got low and kneeled next to the bed._

_The guard aimed his gun and slowly opened the door when the door was kicked inward and the guard fell against the wall behind it. The intruder grabbed the guard’s arm and disarmed him in an instant. The guard pushed the door away from him, freeing himself. The intruder slammed his left arm against the guard’s face, before he grabbed his head with his right and slammed the guards head against the wall two times before it knocked the guard out._

_The intruder stood in the bedroom panting now, blood coming from his lips. You crawled away, further away in the room._

_He turned his attention on you now and took a step towards you._

_The fact that he was wearing what looked like a dark red suit and the idea that he had just taken down the heavily armed guards on his own was enough to scare you to death._

_You crawled away from him until your back hit the wall behind you “Please, don’t..” you held up a hand in a stopping motion._

_He tilted his head, his face covered by the mask he was wearing “I’m not going to hurt you.” he lowered his body to look less intimidating “I’m not going to hurt you, okay?”_

“ _Why are you here ?” your voice was unsteady._

“ _I’m here for information. Are they keeping you here against your will ? ” he countered the question._

_A spark of hope jumped through you and you nodded._

_He pauzed for a moment before he nodded as well, he stood up and started to search the guard. He pulled out a pair of car keys before he walked over to you “Can you drive?”_

“ _Yes.” you quickly answered and he handed you the keys._

_You looked at him in disbelieve “Why would you help me ?”_

_He moved his jaw, your question unexpected “Because I can.”_

_You held the keys in your hand thightly “He went to the armory.” you tell him._

_He nodded and smiled “I’ve heard. You have to go now, they are heading over here. Take the stairs on the left, I’ll keep them busy.”_

_You got up from the ground “Thank you.” you threw your arms around him for a moment before you ran from the room. This was your chance, your salvation to get out of this hell was a guy dressed like the devil._

_You reached the stairs on the left side of the building, and saw that the coast was clear, just like the intruder had said it was._

_As you came to the bottom of the stairs you heard a fight break out, for a moment you stopped. You wondered if the intruder would kill him, or if Shaw would kill the intruder. This was your only chance, and so you ran. You pressed the keys to unlock and one of the cars lights flickered, you ran to it and got in. Turning the keys in the ignition as you started the car and drove off without giving the house a second glance._


	15. Devil In Disguise

When Dex called you the next day to invite you to the coffee shop again, he didn’t expect you to pick up the phone, but you did. He believed you would have declined the invitation, the relieve that washed over him when you accepted his invitation was big. He had planned it out the entire night, as he laid awake in bed. How he would invite you to a public place so you would feel safe. He  _needed_  you to know that you would be safe with him, that he would rather put a bullet in himself then hurt you. He was going to tell you everything, and he knew there was a possibility that you would not take the truth about him well. Today could be the day that he loses you, that you run when you realise what kind of demons are living inside of him. The deaths he has on his conscious. You were so innocent, so kindhearted, how could you accept someone like him ?

He fumbled with the plastic that held the bouquet of lavender and white roses he had brought for you.

If you never wanted to see him again, he would understand. It would shatter his world like glass, but he’d accept your decision. The only thing he could do in that scenario was keep you safe. At least you would be safe.

He ordered a coffee as he waited for your arrival. Once again mentally repeating the speech he had prepared.

 

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

The snow crunched beneath your boots as you walked the last few streets to the coffee shop.

You hugged yourself as you felt the cold breeze whilst making your way passed the other pedestrians. You were suprised when Dex called you, you were afraid to pick up even. But you mustered up the courage and accepted the call. He invited you to come and talk to him at the coffee shop. You had asked him why he couldn’t just talk to you in your apartment or even his, he insisted that he wanted to speak to you in a public place. That it would make you more comfortable as he intended to tell you something important about himself.

You kept thinking about all the possible things that he could have to tell you. Perhaps this was it, perhaps he decided he no longer wants you around him. You swallowed the lump in your throat as you kept walking.

As you passed a parked car you saw yourself in the reflection of the wing mirror and also catched a glimpse of the people behind you. One of them gave off an eery vibe. You ignored the strange feeling the guy gave you, blaming it on the lack of sleep after another nightmare. You kept walking for a little while and there were less and less pedestrians. The sound of snow crunching beneath feet was now easier to hear. And the strange feeling returned, you were about to pass another parked car and glanced in the wing mirror again to see that the guy was still walking the same direction you were walking. A red flag you were no longer ignoring and you quickened your pace and when you looked over your shoulder to see if the guy had quickened his you collided hard against someone.

You stumbled backwards but were able to keep yourself up even with this snow. Your attention was on the person in front of you now. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I should have been more carefull.”

The man in front of you smiled “It’s okay. I can take a hit. Are you hurt ?”

 _Why does he sound familiar ?_ You thought. And this time you paid attention to how he was dressed, perhaps it would jolt your memory. He was wearing black sunglasses, a cap and grey-greenish jacket. And then you noticed it, the walking cane in his hands.

“I’m not, I am okay. Thank you.” you shook your head and wanted to smack yourself for crashing into a blind person.

The man tilted his head to the side oddly before he spoke again “Word of advice, don’t run in the snow. Take it from a blind guy, it’s a bad idea.”

You snorted at that “That is good advice, sir.”

He took the cane in his other hand “Please, call me Matt.” You nodded “You just nodded didn’t you ?”

You sighed “I did, sorry. And uh, I’m (y/n).” you said as you held out your hand.

He shook your hand “ If you don’t mind me asking, why were you running ?” he tilted his head again. You figured he was listening for something.

You shrugged your shoulders as you looked behind you, no trace of the man who you thought was following you. “I’m guessing a lack of sleep is getting me paranoid or something.”

You still couldn’t shake the feeling you knew him from somewhere.

He shifted on his feet as he thought for a moment “Or maybe a lack of sleep causes us to be more aware of our surroundings.”

You narrowed your eyes now, it felt like he knew you thought you were being followed. “Maybe. Listen, I have an appointment and I’m probably running late already…”

“Oh, yeah. Of course, I shouldn’t keep you here any longer then.” he said as he took a step back.

“But it was nice to meet you.” you chuckled a little to yourself.

It piqued his interest “What ?” he asked curiously.

“I can’t shake the feeling that I know you from somewhere.” it probably sounded weird.

The smile on his face grew wider “Maybe I sound like someone you once met.”

That sentence made the gears in your brain turn in overdrive and you didn’t really know what to say.

“It’s was nice meeting you, (y/n). I hope you have a good day.” he tells you and starts to walk away.

“If today turned out to be a good day, it would be a miracle to be honest.” you said more to yourself and didn’t expect him to hear it.

“In that case I’ll pray for it to be.” he spoke loud enough for you to hear.

You scoffed at that “You would pray for me, the person who just crashed into you. Why ?”

He stopped in his tracks and looked at you over his shoulder as he grinned “Because I can.”

And then it clicked. You watched him walk away, your eyes wide as you thought back to the night two months ago. The night Daredevil had told you those exact words that you would never forget. The words the you even started to live by.

This city was huge, what were the chances of bumping into the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen during the day ?

You thought about it all the way to the coffee shop.


	16. Definition Of Kindness

You took the advice to not run in the snow and soon arrived at the coffee shop.

You pushed the door open and the smell of freshly brewed coffee once again found it’s way to your nostrils. Dex was sitting at the table you two had once shared before, he saw you enter right away.

“Hey, it’s good to see you.” you said as you walked up to him. You wanted to make it clear that you weren’t angry anymore about yesterday.

“(y/n) ! I am glad you could make it.” He was about to stand up but you held up a hand stopping him from doing so.

As you sat down you noticed Dex’s hands were trembling a bit, causing you to feel even more worried about the conversation that will soon follow. Seeing someone tremble who deals with dangerous situations almost everyday was definitely a reason to worry.  
“I’m guessing you did like the coffee they serve here, huh ?” You tried to keep your tone light “Those flowers for me ? Or perhaps you’re expecting someone else ?” your insecurity got the best of you again.  
Dex’s gaze crossed yours in a quick matter before he looked at his hand again “Yeah. It’s great. And yes, I thought you might like these.” He ticked the small coaster he was holding on the table a few times while you looked and smelled the flowers “I asked you to meet me here, in a public place, so you would feel safe.”  
Your brow drew together as you watched him take a breath, his shoulders heaving as he did.  
“(y/n), I want you to know that you can walk away at any time, from this place, from me.” He looked at you this time “I… need you to know that you’re safe with me. That I won’t hurt you.”  
You leaned on the table with your elbows, confussion now spread over your face “Dex… what is this about ? Is this about yesterday ? If it is, I want to say that I am sorry. I shouldn’t have compared you to Shaw, I just…. I was stressed out.” You avoided telling him about how you got spooked after you found out he was guarding Fisk.  
He ticked the coaster on the table again to control his nerves “It’s not just about yesterday, but I understand why you were upset. I lied to you, I asked you to the hotel without permission of my superiors. It was a dumb idea, I know that now.” He leaned on the table now as well “You told me you never really knew your ex, Shaw, that he hid his true self. I don’t want that to happen to us, that’s why I asked you to come here. To tell you the truth.” He swallowed hard.  
You weren’t sure how to respond to all of it, but you were relieved he said that he didn’t want that to happen between you both. There was an *us*.  
“What do you want to tell me, Dex ?” You still kept your voice light in an attempt to make him less nervous “That you’re secretly a serial killer with a soft spot for an awkward *pancake girl* ?” You laughed a little.  
Dex’s reaction took you by suprise as he leaned back against the chair and avoided all eye-contact with you.  
Your smile fell, and a red flag rose in the back of your mind.  
He kept his gaze on the table as he talked “I played baseball when I was young. Kept playing even after my parents died.”  
You didn’t even know his parents died “I’m so sorry.” It tumbled from your lips as you placed a hand on his.  
He looked at you quickly before he kept his focusing on your hand on his, only giving you a nod before he continued.  
“One day, after my coach told me to sit a game out, I got upset….angry. I…” he wiped his face with his other hand “I threw a baseball at him so hard that it killed him.”  
Your whole body froze except your hand, which you slowly pulled away from him.

You crossed your arms, holding yourself. A thousand things were flying through your mind at once. This was not going how you thought this was going to go.

You couldn’t respond, you just looked around the coffee shop. Part of you wanted to flee, but you forced yourself to stay. You wanted to hear the truth, you wanted to hear his story.

You didn’t see how Dex was hyperventilating. His eyes were on you now, watching your reaction closely. He slowly reached a hand out to you, almost touching yours.

You noticed him move and jumped a little, it was enough to cause a pained expression in his eyes.

You held out your hand in a stopping motion, wanting to keep some space between you and him as you processed what he just told you.

Dex felt his eyes sting, he knew there was a chance you would react like this. It still hurt seeing you like this, afraid of him. “(y/n)… I am so sorry. For lying to you yesterday, for hiding this from you. I didn’t know how to tell you, I was afraid you would see me in a different way. That someone as good as you would never be able to see me in a good light again.”

You gave a short nod “Thank you for telling me.” your voice barely more then a whisper “I realise this can’t have been easy to tell me.”

He blinked rapidly as he drew a deep shaking breath “I..uh went to a therapist for a long time, until she got sick at passed away. She taught me a lot. Told me my moral compass wasn’t broken. It just works better with a north star to guide me. Someone to keep me on the straight and narrow path.“  
  
You relaxed a little after you heard that he went to therapy after the incident and he did sound genuine.  
"Is that why you asked me if I believed that there is still hope for people who do something really bad ?”  
He nodded “Yeah. I didn’t know how you would react once I told you.”  
There was a short moment of silence, long enough to raise Dex’s anxiety once more.  
“I meant what I said that evening. It’s our actions that decide if there is hope for us.” You let your hand rest on the table “You were a kid, Dex. Look where you are now, a succesfull FBI agent, who saves people.” He looked you in the eyes, uncertainty in his. “Your therapist was right and it looks like she really did have a good impact on you” you saw him nod in agreement “ You could have hid this from me, instead you confided in me.”  
“So, we’re okay ?” It was all he managed to say as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

You nodded “Just one question. This ‘North Star’ you mentioned, it’s a person ?”

He cleared his throat “Yes. It’s easier if I can learn from someone. Watch how they are around people.”

The conversation you had had with Dex was starting to click together.

“Watch them be 'good’ people ?” you added.

He nodded in agreement “I watched people, I learned to be more like them. But you are the first person I’ve met that truly makes it clear what it means. Kindness, empathy…”

He placed his elbows on the table, his voice only loud enough for you to hear “The day we met, I saw how you were kind so effortlessly, even though you have a good reason not to trust people. You help people without wanting something in return. They might as well slap a picture of you in the dictionary under the definition of kindness.”

You snorted when you heard him say the dictionary part “I’m really not that amaz-”

“You’re special to me, (y/n).” he meant every word of it and your eyes snapped up to his.


	17. Oblivious

“So if I’m getting this right… you see me as your ‘North Star’ ?” you were starting to fear he only wanted you around for guidance. You would offer guidance of course, but it wasn’t going to be easy considering the feelings you had developed for him.

He scratched the side of his neck, still fearing he would say something wrong “I do. But I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, so I apologize if it feels like I am invading your privacy. It’s not my intention to scare you or something.”

You let out a chuckle “Believe me, it takes more then that to scare me away then someone wanting to be around me for guidance. I’ve been through far worse things, Dex.” your voice was darker then you meant for it to be and it caught Dex’s attention.

“I’m not just using you for guidance, (y/n). I do value your company a lot.” he clarrified.

“And my cooking.” you chimned in.

He let out a chuckle and smirked “And your cooking.”

You smiled at him, happy that the conversation was more relaxed now.

“(y/n) ?” you looked at him and he appeared to be thinking about something.

“Yeah ?”

“I understand if you don’t want to talk about this, but I want to know how dangerous this  _Shaw_ guy really is. You told me he did bad things all the time, I’m guessing that you weren’t just talking about him hurting you.” Dex’s tone was serious and you knew he wouldn’t just drop the subject.

You hesitated to tell him how everything went down, not even sure where to start your story.

He noticed your hesitation “I need to know that you are safe, (y/n).” he pleaded.

Your eyes locked on his, he really did care about you and it made you feel warm inside.

You took a moment to think about how you would tell your story. How to begin.

“At first, everything was perfect. He was nice, charming. I should have known it was just a curtain that covered the real play going on. If I wanted to go and see my friends he would find ways to prevent it. Taking me to a restaurant as a  _suprise_ , for example, causing me to having to cancel my plans. I thought it was normal, just the exciting first months of being in love, you know ?” you swallowed back the lump in your throat “Thinking back now, I ignored a lot of red flags. He never spoke about work, he became more and more possesive of me.”

Dex’s jaw was tense as he listened to your story “When did you realise something was off about him ?”

There was no judgement in his voice, something you were grateful for “I saw him kill someone.”  
His eyes widened in shock at your words and you weren’t sure he believed his own ears “What ?”  
You fumbled with the coaster of your coffee “That’s why he never spoke about work. Shaw wasn’t just some guy, Dex. He didn’t just have a well-paid job, whatever it really was that he did…” you pauzed “He killed people, not just if they got in his way, or if they annoyed him. It was part of the job to him.”

Dex never suspected how dangerous your ex was until now, if he had known, he would have taken precautions to keep you safe. Convinced you to instal special locks, even change your name if that was what it would take.

“He killed people ? Did you report it ? Did he know that you saw it happen ?” he resisted the urge to grab you by the arm and get you away from this place knowing that anyone who meant harm could easily target you in this place.

You shook your head “I tried to run after I saw him kill the guy. One of his henchmen caught me. That was the first time Shaw hit me. I thought he was going to kill me too. Instead he kept me, like a doll, I couldn’t get out, the people who worked for him always kept an eye on me. I couldn’t get out…” you closed your eyes, your breathing heavy “I was only allowed to walk around the house if one of them was guarding me. The only place I was left alone was the bedroom.. until he came.”

You were trying to control your emotions as you thought back on it.

Dex understood what you wanted to say, his hatred toward this  _Shaw_  guy was growing bigger each minute.  
He was silent, waiting for you to speak again.  
“If I refused or disobeyed he would threathen my friends. Hell, he would threathen anyone and he knew I would break. He’s a monster Dex.” You put your head in your hands as you tried to breath normal again.

You felt him take hold of one of your hands and you looked at him.

He looked like he was calm but his eyes betrayed him, you feared you had said to much. The last thing you wanted was Dex starting a witchhunt on Shaw “Tell me his full name, (y/n). What does he look like ? ”  
You shook you head “No. I got away, Dex. And if he really wanted to come after me, he has had every opportunity to do so. But he didn’t, I’m guessing he lost his interest in me after all. I am not going to let you get yourself hurt or worse DEAD. He’s dangerous, but he is anything but stupid, Dex. The FBI can’t touch him, he will have made sure of that.” He looked ready to object “Dex. I mean it ! I don’t want you anywhere near him !”  
He let go of your hand and sighed in frustration. Dex wouldn’t have gone to the FBI with the information you would have shared with him, that he was sure off. He was more then eager to handle it himself. Something he would never be able to tell you, he wanted to keep you away from anything so dark. You were too important to him, he had to keep you safe. Protect your faith in the people of the world. To keep you believing in the good of him.  
“You say you couldn’t get out. How were you able to get out of that place ?” he was looked at you with a puzzled expression.

You sighed and let out a chuckle “This is going to sound crazy” you warned him “One evening, there was an intruder in the house. He managed to fight his way through pretty much all of the guards. I only found out later that it was Daredevil. He let me go, he could have easily thought that I was a criminal as well, but he let me go.” you explained.  
“Daredevil ?”

“Yup.” you confirmed.

“The guy running around in the suit beating up people in alleys ? What was he doing in the house ?” he looked suprised.  
You shrugged your shoulders “I have no idea what he was looking for. I think he was looking for Shaw, for information. I don’t know if he was able to get it. Shaw always had a plan B.”

“With some luck that devil dude gave him what he deserved.” Dex said more to himself.

“Would have loved to see it.” you said coldly, meaning every word of it.

Dex looked at you suprised, maybe even impressed “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“You should know by now that I’m full of suprises.” it came out much flirtier then you expected it to and you cleared your throat to try and hide it.

He let out a nervous chuckle and you felt your cheeks get warm “I’m starting to see that.”

Neither of you truly dared to look at eachother as a short silence fell.

You didn’t want to say goodbye and go home yet and you thought about ways to stay around him longer without sounding desperate.

“There a funfair in town.” you tried to say it casually hoping he would get the hint.

He nodded “Yeah. I’ve seen it.” he said obliviously and you wondered how an FBI agent could be so oblivious sometimes.

Instead of asking, you grabbed the flowers and stood up. Dex looked at you with a fearful expression, most likely thinking you’re just going to run off or something.

You held the flowers in one hand and reached your other towards Dex as you moved your fingers playfully in his direction. Your eyes darting between your outstretched hand and him.

“Special Agent Poindexter, will you please take my hand so I can drag you to the funfair.” your voice ludicrous.

He swallowed nervously as a smirk appeared on his face “Drag me ?”

You raised a brow sarcasticly “Or you could, oh I don’t know, drive us there. Just an idea. However, dragging you wouldn’t be hard considering it has snowed.”

He scoffed at your answer but to your suprise he held out his hand and you took hold of it “I’m going to go with driving.”

You smiled brightly and at least dragged him by the hand out of the coffee shop and to the car.


	18. Let It Snow

You spend some time on the coin pusher machine while Dex was trying and failing hilariously to catch something in a claw grab machine. You saw him fail repeatedly out of the corner of your eyes. After his fifth attempt you grab the coins that had once more fallen and put them in the little plastic container before you walked over to him.  
“Damn thing doesn’t work.” He muttered dissapointed.  
You smirked “Yup. That’s why I rarely try them.”  
He looked at the plastic container in your hands that was filled with arcade coins “Did you rob this place or something ?”  
You laughed and scoffed “Excuse me, I can’t helped it if I’m better at these games then you are.” you turned around and went to exchange the coins for a cute plush as Dex waited for you.

You didn’t just return with the plush you picked out, but you got yourself a big cotton candy as well.

Dex shook his head and looked at you amused.

“What ?” you said as you stuffed some of it in your mouth.

“Sometimes I wonder if your sugar intake has something to do with your sweet personality.” he remarked and reached over to grab some of the cotton candy.

“Nooooo.” you held the candy out of his reach “Stop stealing my food.”

He snorted “Fine.” he looked around and seemed to focus on something.

“You’re not going to distract me and steal my candy by looking at something.” you eyed him suspiciously.

He tilted his head towards one of the stands “Let’s try that one. See if you can beat me in that game.”

He walked away and you followed him to a shooting gallery stand. There were hundreds and hundreds of very thin little sticks that people were aiming for. Most people missed the sticks or only managed to shoot small pieces off of the sticks.

You got kind of nervous when you saw which game Dex had picked out, you had never really played it. Guns always made you nervous, even these ones. Especially after you saw your ex kill someone “The shooting gallery, huh. Why doesn’t that suprise me ?” you asked as Dex paid for the game this time.

He loaded some ammo in the weapon before he held it out to you, you gave him a look.

“I promise I won’t eat your candy.” he rolled his eyes as he read your mind and you reluctantly let him hold the cotton candy as you took hold of the weapon “Let’s see what you got.”

You looked at what another person was doing and you tried to imitate that as best as you could.

“Relax your shoulders.” Dex told you and you did. “Focus on one of the sticks and keep your eyes on it.”

You followed his instructions and fired. You didn’t hit the stick, you did hit one of the bears that were given as prizes. You looked to see if the man controlling the stand noticed.

Dex let out a chuckle and discreetly took the weapon from you and handed you back the cotton candy “He didn’t notice.”

“I should have known I was shit at this.” you groaned in frustration.

“Don’t worry about it. Perhaps Hook A Duck is more your thing.” he gave you a shit-eating grin.

You glared at him “Well, Agent Poindexter, why don’t you show me how this should be done then ? Or are you scared you’ll embarrass yourself ?” you dared him.

He looked at the sticks once before he smirked at you “Alright, let’s make this into a bet then ?”

You were interested in that “Okay, what are we betting for ?”

“If I shoot off every stick in that row, in one go..” he pointed to a row of very thin sticks in the far back “I’ll get that cotton candy, Deal ?”

You laughed at the idea “You’re telling me you can shoot a stick off in one shot, okay. But a whole row of them ? Get out. That would mean you would have to hit each of them perfectly, every time you shoot.”

“Deal ?” he asked again and you were suprised at his confidence.

“Wait, what do I get if you fail ?” you questioned.

He thought about that one for a moment as he loaded the weapon again “I would say more cotton candy but I’m not sure how much sugar you can take without getting sick at this point.”

“You would be suprised, Dex.” you smiled “ Should I take a step to the side ? Give you some space ?” you said playfully.

He shook his head and chuckled as he started to aim.

If he missed, that would mean more cotton candy for you, so it was hard to resist not trying to distract him just a little bit.

“I’ll manage.” he tried to focus and ignore the silly faces you were pulling next to him.

“You sure ? So I’m not distracting you at all ?” you asked innocently.

He smirked “Nope.” and then he fired. Not once but constantly, you turned to look at the sticks and saw them disappear one by one. Each shot made another disappear completely until he had wiped out the entire row like it was nothing.

Your mouth fell open. The stand owner’s mouth fell open. The people around the stand had seen it happen.

That just really happened.

“You uh…You can pick which price you want…” the owner said, still baffled.

Dex wasn’t aware of the stares directed at him, he tilted his head in your direction “She can choose.”

Your eyes darted between Dex who was putting the weapon back and the stand owner.

“You sure ?” you ask Dex.

“Yeah. Besides, I got your cotton candy.” he casually said as you let him take the candy from your hand. Fair is fair.

“Uhm…. I’ll take the Stitch plush, please.” you awkwardly said and the owner handed it to you.

It was starting to get pretty dark and the snow once again started to fall as you walked back to the car.

“Agent Alvarez said you were a good shot, but I never realised how good you actually were until now.” you were still amazed.

“Comes with throwing popcorn at noisy movie-goers.” he jokingly said.

“She told me you saved them in that ambush.” you stated.

“I was just doing my job.” he tried to brush it off. Clearly not used to a compliment.

You tapped him on the arm and he stopped “You’re a hero, Dex.”

He cleared his throat, his expression sorrowful “I’m really not.”

“You are to me.” you said softly, hoping he would believe you “You stopped a thief, you saved fellow agents and you are clearly trying to protect me, even if I tell you I’ll be fine. I know you try to hide that fact but I’m not blind, Dex.”

He was speechless, not knowing how to react to you praising him like this. His colleagues had done so as well, but with you it was different. You were special. He knew you were genuine, that you meant what you said. Part of him didn’t think he deserved your praise, maybe it always would. Maybe it was right.

You saw how your words affected him, but not in a way you were expecting them to. He looked sombre, lost in thought even. It crossed your mind that he didn’t believe it, that he didn’t consider himself to be anything special and it broke your heart seeing him think that.

“You don’t believe me do you ?” you took a step closer to him

He swallowed hard “I want to, it’s just that…” he stopped and evaded your gaze “It’s difficult for me.”

You understood him “That’s why you have me. To show you how  _good_  you are.” you used the way he always described you, to describe him as well “ I meant what I said, Dex. You  _are_ a hero to me.”

He blinked a few times before he looked you in the eyes. He wanted to believe you. That he was  _good,_ and when he saw the look in your eyes and the smile playing on your lips, he did. Even if it was just for a moment.

He froze when you stepped closer again and wrapped your arms around him, hugging him without fear.

“I won’t give up on you.” you whispered against his shoulder.

You felt him tremble when he finally breathed after holding his breath for what seemed like forever.

The words clinged onto the doubts in his mind, until they tore them down.

You felt him wrap his arm around your frame, even felt him pull you a little closer.

More snow started to fall and soon it fell on you.

Dex looked up at the sky as you let go of him “We should head to the car, unless we want to turn into snowmen here.”

He looked at you again, there was something different in the way he looked at you now. Something that made your heart skip a beat.

“Uh yeah. We should.” you muttered.

He took a few steps in the direction of the car and waited for a moment for you to walk next to him.

As you passed a low wall you discreetly scooped some snow in your hand.

And as Dex walked next to to you, he did something he had never done with anyone else, he let his guard down. And by the time it occured to him that you weren’t walking next to him anymore, he felt something cold hit his back, close to his neck.

He winced as the cold touched his skin and he turned to look at you in disbelieve.

“Good at throwing. Not as good as dodging though.” you teased.

"You’re going to regret that.” he warned and he was quicker then you believed he was when he reached for the snow as well.

And that was enough for you to start running for cover, knowing damn well you were surrounded by ammo.

The first snowball nearly hit you as you ducked for cover behind a car.

“MISSED !” you shouted and laughed.

You heard the snow crunch as he walked through it. You sneaked along the cars and grabbed some snow, making a ball as you listened to where he was heading. You hadn’t felt so alive in what felt like years.

The footsteps stopped and you felt a snowball hit you against your shoulder, it suprised you.

You heard him chuckle “Who said I wasn’t missing on purpose, (y/n) ?”

“Since when do you think you have to go easy on me?” you shouted back at him and as you said it you stood up and threw the snowball, it landed in front of him.

He chuckled “You’ve seen me throw popcorn at a guy across a movie theater and you don’t think I should go easy on you ?” you heard the snow crunch again as he moved.

You sought another place to take cover and choose a tree nearby “ You can’t frighten me.”

It was silent for a while and you furrowed your brows, you took a look from behind the tree and you were met with a snowball hitting you in the head.

You cursed and were happy you were wearing a knitted cap.

“Not good at throwing or dodging, huh ?” his voice sounded like it was coming from right behind you and it startled you. You spun around and almost slipped on the snow as you did.

You yelped and he was quick to grab your arms and prevent you from falling.

“Did I hurt you ??” there was panic in his voice, his fingers going over the spot on your head that was hit by the snowball.

You liked the feeling of his warm fingers touching you. He was so close and your breath hitched.

“I’ve been through worse.” you assured and smiled softly.

His hand went lower to your cheek as he examined your face “I know.” his thumb brushed over the remainder of the cut under your eye “And that never should’ve happened. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.” his voice but a mere whisper.

You didn’t think you would feel safe with someone ever again, but you did. Dex made you feel so safe. His hand, warm against your cheek. His breath lightly touching your skin because he was so close. It was enough to make your head spin.

You closed your eyes and reached your fingers to his face. The tips of your fingers lightly touching his jaw. He rested his forehead against yours, and you tilted your head up so he would understand.

His other hand found it’s way to your neck, carressing it softly before his lips touched yours.

His mouth moved softly against yours, you were shivering under his touch. Your fingers slightly tangeling in the fabric of his jacket. He broke the kiss and you noticed he was trembling as well, his hand still resting against your neck as his thumb brushed under your jaw.

“You taste like my cotton candy.” you remarked as a smile played on your lips.

He gave you a lopsided grin and looked at you like you believed someone would look at a nebula in the nightsky. He wasn’t like anyone you had met before, at times it felt like you had known him for years. Sometimes, when you thought you had him all figured out, he still found a way to suprise you. The more layers you peeled away, the more you were starting to love the person that was under them.

You heard the crunchy noise from footsteps in the snow coming in your direction and Dex looked where the sound was coming from as he took a step back.

You looked to where Dex was looking and you recognized the person approaching you. A young boy and a woman were walking next to him.

“Isn’t that-” you wanted to ask Dex but the man already called out to you.

“Dex !” Ray waved his hand, turning to the woman for a moment before he approached. His eyes darted between the two of you “Miss (l/n).” He greeted you in a friendly manner.  
“You can just call me (y/n).” You quickly replied.  
Ray shook your hand “I just want to say that I am sorry if I came off a bit hard back at the presidential hotel. There is protocol that we have to follow to keep everyone save.”  
“It’s okay, I understand completely. No hard feelings, Special Agent Nadeem. I just hope Dex didn’t get into trouble because of my presence there ?” You saw Dex look at you.  
“Glad to hear it. And Dex and I were able to avoid any problems regarding the situation.” Ray looked at Dex meaningful “And please, just call me Ray.”  
He redirected his attention to Dex “Didn’t expect to see you here, Dex.”  
“Yeah.. (y/n) wanted to visit the funfair.” Dex tilted his head in the direction of the funfair.  
Ray nodded towards the woman and the young boy standing a bit further away “I’m taking Seema and Sami, promised it to them a while ago.”  
“Feels like we haven’t had the time to take a breath since we started guarding that animal.” Dex replied “Go have fun, Ray. We’ve earned it.”  
Ray nodded in agreement “I get what you mean. Anyway, you two enjoy the rest of your evening.”  
“Thank you, Ray. You too.” You said.  
“See you tomorrow.” Dex told him as Ray walked with Seema and Sami towards the fair.

“Ray didn’t tell that Hattley-person did he ?” you guessed.

Dex shrugged and smirked “Ray’s one of the good ones.”

“Glad to hear that he has your back in times of trouble.” you smiled back, a cold wind was starting to brush against your skin “We really should head back. Looks like the weather is changing.”

He nodded and rested his hand on your back as he walked you to the car.


	19. The Brave Raccoon

“So you’re walking me to my door now, huh ?” you jokingly said as you arrived at the door of your apartment.

A chuckle escaped him “I have to pass here if I want to get to my floor, so yeah.”

“Oh, and here I thought I was special.” you joked and pouted.

“You are.” the words quickly left him as his eyes bore into yours, making you blush.

“I uh… I should probably.. go inside..” you pointed at the door behind you.

He nodded, still distracted as he was looking at your lips now. You felt a shiver go down your spine when you noticed it.

“I….uh…” your words where cut short as Dex leaned in to kiss you again. His hands cupping your face as he kissed you. You eagerly deepened the kiss and pulled him closer to you.

Someone cleared their throat and causing you to break the kiss.

“Okaaaaaay.” Ally looked between the both of you. Eyebrows raised, chewing some more gum.

This was awkward to say the least.

“Some guy came by today. He asked me to give you this.” Ally walked to you and gave you a small closed envelope, shooting Dex a funny look as she did. Looked like she hasn’t gotten over the fact that he confused her for a girl scout.

“Oh. Thank you.” you took the envelope from her hands and turned it over to see if there was a name on it, it was blank.

Dex eyes darted between you and Ally “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay ?”

You nodded and smiled “It’s unavoidable.”

He grinned at you before he walked away, as he passed Ally you could hear him say “ ‘Evening girl scout.”

The look that formed on her face made you cover your mouth before you would burst into laughter.

“Is he serious ?! Is he ?!” she sounded offended as she pointed over her shoulder at Dex walking away.

You shook your head, not sure if you would be able to hold in your laughter if you would speak.

She groaned and walked away as well.

“Goodnight, Ally !” you shouted after her.

She raised a hand and moved it once, her way of waving “Yeah. 'night.”

You watched her walk away before you went inside your apartment. You threw your jacket on the hook. It felt like electricity was going through your veins. Your mind wandering back to the moment he kissed you. How carefull he was as he touched you. He made you feel like you mattered. You didn’t think you would ever find someone like that, especially not so soon after the whole traumatic experience you had had with Shaw. But you did, and for the first time in months, you were happy.

You had almost forgotten about the envelope in your hands, and you looked it over again. It was a plain white one. Nothing special about it. There was nothing written on it.

You opened it and found it was empty. You furrowed your brow in confussion.

Perhaps something had fallen out of it, or maybe they forgot to actually put something inside. You brushed it off, it was probably a store sending out papers to try and sell stuff to people. You had gotten those before. Soon your mind wandered back to the amazing evening you had shared with Dex. You were sure you wouldn’t have nightmares tonight.

 

 

The next day you were going through job advertisements again when someone knocked on your door.

“Y/n ! I’ve got to ask you something !” you heard Mr. Wilkinson’s voice.

You opened the door “Hi, Bob. What’s up ?”

He cracked a smile and pointed to you like you had just guessed something right “That’s just it, nothing’s  _up._ “

You gave him a confused expression “Alright, what is not  _up_  ?”

He laughed “Ha, glad you asked. Nancy and I had our pictures taken and she got me this beautiful frame for it. But I can’t seem to get it on the wall, my hands aren’t what they used to be you see ?”

You understood what he wanted to ask you “Don’t worry, Bob. I’ll handle it. Do you have a hammer and nail ?”

“Oh thank you, (y/n) ! And yes, I got those. Follow me.” he was happy you had offered to help him.

Soon you were hitting a nail in the wall of his living room. You took the frame in your hands to hang it and looked at the picture inside “This is a great photo Bob. You two look very happy together.” you looked over your shoulder at him “Nancy is very sweet.”

“That she is.” he looked at the photo lovingly “You look very happy too lately. Does it have anything to do with that fella from the floor above ?”

You couldn’t hide the smile on your face as you nodded “Yeah. Dex and I, I think I can say that we are dating now.”

Mr. Wilkinson smiled and you put the frame on the nail in the wall.

“Then it looks like we both are finding our way on the road to happiness again.” he looked proudly at the photo.

“It appears so. It’s been a bumpy ride to say the least.” you turned to him.

“Life is a bumpy road, we all gotta stop one moment to put on new tires and try again.” Bob sighed “The journey is part of the gift we get in the end.”

You thought back to the past, the whole ordeal with Shaw, when you thought that it was going to be like that the rest of your life. And how it was now. You were free, in love with someone who treated you with respect. Dex had made the journey worth it.

“I like the sound of that.” you smiled at Mr. Wilkinson.

“Thank you for your help with this. I wanted to ask that fella of yours but he seemed in a hurry this morning.” he remarked.

“Probably a situation at work, he has a busy job.” you informed him “I am going to head back to my place. Fill in some more job applications.”

“Good luck, (y/n). It’s not easy to find a job in the city these days.” he gave you a thumbs up as you left.

“Talk to you later, Bob !” you said before you walked out of his apartment and back to yours.

 

 

As evening fell, you were listening to some music while spending some time on youtube.

A noise drew your attention and you lowered the volume on your laptop.

You listened to see if you would hear it again and soon you did.

It sounded like the neighbours downstairs were having an argument and they were being pretty loud. Not loud enough for you to hear what they were shouting about though.

Someone knocked on your door again in a way that you were starting to get familiar with.

You walked to the door and opened it, finding Ally in front of you with a rather gloomy expression.

You didn’t say anything as you opened the door wider to let her in.

“Dad came home early.” she said as she plopped down on a chair at the table. “Mom had to make up a story about her boytoy.”

You sat down opposite her “I’m guessing your dad didn’t believe the story ?”

She shrugged her shoulders “Nope. This is how it always goes. He comes home, they start shouting at eachother.”

Ally looked a little pale, she tried to hide her real feelings about the situation “Do they shout at you too ?”

“Don’t all parents ?” she sighed.

You shook your head “Not all the time.”

“I wish they would get a divorce. I mean, why don’t they ? Dad isn’t home much but he’s nice to me. He doesn’t make me feel like a burden.” she tried to smile but failed.

“You’re not a burden, Ally. Not to me. You kind of remind me of a raccoon.” you smirked at her.

She raised a brow and scoffed “Because of my eyeshadow ?”

You shook your head “No, because you come and take my food.”

She rolled her eyes and a real smile appeared on her face “Okay.” she sighed “You know what I want ?”

“What’s that ?” you asked her.

“I want to get out of this shitty building, no offence, and live in a big mansion.” she moved her hands as she daydreamed about it.

“None taken.” you chuckled “I once lived in a big mansion, you know. Wasn’t that great, a bit like living in a school or something.”

“You did ?” her eyes widened.

“Uhuh. It was huge, but the view from the bedroom window was awful. There was a big wall around the place. And all you could see was this old statue of a guy holding a flag, it blocked all the view you could have.” you explained.

“And there goes another dream.” Ally said sarcasticly.

“Sorry.” you chuckled “Hey, Ally ?” A thought crossed your mind.  
“What ?” She looked at you curiously.  
“That guy who gave you the envelope, did he look familiar ? Was it someone who just delivers store flyers ?” You couldn’t hide your curiousity about the blank letter.  
She thought for a moment and then shook her head “Nah. Never seen the guy before. He just thought you lived in our apartment I guess. Why ?”  
“I was wondering because the envelop was empty.” You informed her.  
Ally furrowed her brow “Kinda creepy.”  
You chuckled at her reaction until a feeling of dread crawled under your skin and your smile fell, could the guy who was following you on the street be the same person that brought the letter ? “Ally..” you feared the answer to your question. “What did the guy look like ?”  
She shrugged her shoulders “He had an ugly scar under his eye.”  
Your chest heaved in relief, Shaw most certainly did not have a scar under his eye and neither did the guy who had creeped you out on the street.  
“I just told him you lived on the floor above us then he gave me the envelop and thanked me.” She gave you a weird look.  
You nodded “Probably a salesmen after all. Almost got me spooked there.”  
“Probably. He looked like one, dressed all fancy and stuff.” Ally scoffed and chuckled “Hey, uh… can I use your restroom for a moment ?” she suddenly asks.

“Oh sure, it’s right over there.” you pointed in the direction of the bathroom “Try not to trip over the boxes.” You laughed as you saw her push her way past the boxes to get to the bathroom.

As Ally was in the bathroom, you heard another knock on your door. You were quick to open the door, knowing it was probably going to be Dex as he usually came home around this time. You flung the door open enthusiastically, searching for his hazel colored eyes.  
Your heart dropped when your eyes weren’t met with warm hazel colored ones, instead they were met with cold dark green ones.  
“Hello, my little dove.”


	20. Nightmare

Shaw smiled wickedly and you started to tremble in fear.

Survival instincts kicked in and you tried to slam the door shut but he had half-expected you to react that way and caught the door before it could shut.  
He pushed the door open further again with ease “Tsk tsk. Easy there little one.” He reproached as he prevented you from slamming the door shut.  
Your mind shot to Ally in the bathroom, what would Shaw do with her ? She would be an obstacle in whatever his plans were with you.

It was like your feet were frozen in place, his hand on the side of the door.

Two others were watching as they kept some distance, he brought back-up. Of course he did. Trying to run would mean leaving Ally in potential danger. You couldn’t allow other people to get caught in your problems. Shaw would never allow others to help you.  
He walked towards you and you stepped backwards to stay out of his reach “What a joyous day this is.” he raised his hands like he was praising. He glanced around quickly but discreetly “Tell me, little dove, do you have company ?”

You knew what that meant, you had seen his jealous side more then once.

“No one is here.” you said it louder then you had to, attempting to warn Ally to stay out of sight. You hoped he would believe it was because you were clearly afraid.

Soon he was standing in the middle of your apartment.   
He looked around “Oh, how far you have fallen. From all the wealth in the world, to a small shoddy box.”   
He opened your bedroom door casually as he took a quick look inside from the doorway “Fortunately for you, I’m here to change that.”  
You mustered up the courage before you spoke but your voice still broke "I don’t want your kind of life.”  
He smiled at you over his shoulder “I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter, sweetheart.” He said as he pulled his gun out. You froze when you saw the gun. You prayed Ally had understood the hint. Her walking in the room now would be all kinds of disaster.

He whistled and the other two walked in as well. One of them grabbed you by your upper arm with a firm grip as Shaw came to stand in front of you. His eyes scanning over your form before they fell on your side. You flinched when he reached his hand out.

“You won’t be needing this anymore, love.” he said as he pulled your phone from the pocket of your jeans “It’s time to go home, (y/n).” he motioned for you to turn around.

A thought flashed through your mind, a thought that slammed the air out of your lungs. Dex always came home around this hour. If Shaw saw Dex he would kill him without hesistation, the last thing he would want is an agent lurking around.

“You don’t have to do this, Shaw. I’m not worth it.” you tried to escape the situation by reasoning with him.

You felt him put his hand, holding the gun, against your lower back as he guided you to the door “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Love. Don’t mistake my absence for a lack of interest.” he whispered in your ear and you bit back the tears. Your hope that he would have moved on or that he wouldn’t have survived his encounter with Daredevil was crushed.  
“Search the place.” Shaw commanded one of his guards before he put his attention on you again as he walked you out of the apartment, hiding the gun behind your back as he did. You resisted the urge to look in the direction of the bathroom, you hoped Ally realised the both of you were in danger. You saw the guard walk into the bathroom and your heart stopped. He stood in the doorway for a moment before he yelled “All clear, boss.” Shaw nodded to him.

“Tell me, sweetheart.” he suddenly says as he took hold of your lower arm roughly, turning you to face him “Were your days and nights as lonely as mine ?” he brushed a strand of your hair behind your ear before his fingers gripped your chin firmly.

His jealous side once again flared up and you knew he was seconds away of hitting you.

“(y/n) ?” a voice drew Shaw’s attention away from you and he let go of you right away. Once again putting up his facade towards the world.

 

Mister Wilkinson’s eyes darted between you and Shaw, a worried expression on his face.

You opened your mouth to speak, but Shaw was fast to cut you off.

“Good evening, Sir.” Shaw pushed the gun in your back as a warning “Can I be of any assistance ?”

Mister Wilkinson was looking oddly at Shaw now, his instincts probably warning him of the danger in front of him “Please, just call me Bob. Sorry, uh… Mister ?”  
“Reed. Shaw Reed.” Reed introduced himself.

Mister Wilkinson nodded “Oh.. I just wanted to thank (y/n) again for helping me put my picture frame on the wall.”

Shaw appeared so calm in the situation, it would be easy to miss that something was off “Oh! Well. (y/n) always has been very gracious towards others. It comes as no suprise that she would help her friendly neighbours.”

“It was no problem, Bob.” you quickly said, your voice breaking a little. You hoped Mister Wilkinson would see the danger. Connect the dots between your old bruises and the man next to you. See what was really going on and call the police.

“She’s a real treasure. I uh…I should head back inside. My favorite program is starting soon. So you have a good evening now.” He must have noticed the fear in your eyes as he started to nervously explain that he needs to head back to his apartment. Wilkinson’s eyes fell on you as he turned towards his apartment door. He knew.

You didn’t feel the gun pressing in your back anymore and you relaxed a bit as you saw Mister Wilkinson walk away.  
“Excuse me, Bob.” Shaw suddenly spoke and you felt Shaw’s hand leave your back.  
Mister Wilkinson stopped in his tracks and turned around cautiously “Yes ?”  
The corner of Shaw’s mouth turned up a little “This isn’t personal. Only but an unfortunate position we find ourselves in.”  
Both you and Mister Wilkinson where confused for only a second before his eyes widened as Shaw aimed his gun at him and shot him in the chest.  
Your mouth opened, but no scream left you as you saw him fall backwards on the ground. Your hands pressing against your chest as you tried to breath.  
He was gasping for air on the ground.  
“no…” you stumbled over to him, your hands hovering above the gunshot wound. You didn’t know how to help him “I’m so sorry..” you could barely manage to speak the words as you fell to your knees.  
Shaw sighed in annoyance as he looked at his gun “Brilliant. I should have brought the silencer after all.” He turned towards one of his guards “Clear the building.”

The meaning of his words hit you like a train “ No ! Shaw, Please ! These people are innocent, please !”  
He walked over to you and pulled you from the ground roughly. “Time to go.”  
You tried to pull yourself from his grasp.  
He didn’t even flinch “Sedate her !” He commanded to the other guard.  
You felt the needle in your neck before you could protest and soon you succumbed to the darkness.


	21. Missing

He had worked late once again tonight, guarding Fisk was starting to get on his nerves. He knew Fisk was trying to get under his skin by not telling Hattley and Winn the truth about what happened during the ambush. Trying to get something from him. When Fisk tried to cloud his mind all Dex did was think about you. No darkness could pass the light you brought to his life. Not even Fisk.   
He went to pass your floor as always, only this time he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his neighbour on the floor in a puddle of blood. He was wary as he made his way over to him slowly. He checked for a pulse. Nothing. He checked the wound in Bob’s chest, it didn’t take a specialist to see it was a gunshot wound. A feeling of dread rose inside of him, he reached for his gun and clicked the safety off. His muscles tensed as he prepared for the worst, his eyes trailed to your door. His pace was quick, carefull but quick. He reached for the doorknob and froze, his fingers not touching the doorknob just yet.

The door was unlocked, a slight stream of light passed through the gap between the door and the wall. His breathing stopped. He pushed the door open slowly, not ready for the worst.

Dex stepped inside, there were no signs of a struggle, at least none that he could see.

He checked all the rooms in your apartment, but found nothing. Nothing but carton boxes.

He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or worried that you weren’t there. He composed himself as he took his phone out of his pocket to call it in.

Perhaps you just forgot to lock your door when you left. He would talk to you about it.

Hell, he would install special door security for you after this.

“Ray, I’m going to need you to send a team to my apartment building. There’s been a homicide. The victim is my neighbour, Bob Wilkinson, 72 year old male. He was dead on arrival, gunshot wound to the chest.”

Dex walked around your apartment as he talked to Ray on the phone. His eyes falling on your jacket, still hanging neatly on the wall. Ray confirmed that he was sending a team and would be there shortly.

Dex ended the call, his eyes still on your jacket as he dailed your number. He would have to tell you about what happened, even if he wasn’t sure how. He knew you saw Mister Wilkinson as a friend.

He heard the sound of the ringback tone as he waited for you to answer the call.

The tone kept playing, his thoughts trying to piece together the evidence at the same time.

Your jacket was still here. Your door unlocked. Someone killed Wilkinson and by the looks of it, he was shot by someone standing in the same direction as to where your front door was.

The call went to voicemail and he pondered if he would leave a message, he decided against it.

 

 

Dex paced around the hall but kept a distance from the scene as he waited for Ray to arrive with a team.  
He’d rather leave and go search for you then stay here. But he knew he would need all the help he could get to find you. And truthfully, at this point he didn’t know where to start looking.  
He heard muffled voices coming from the lower floor and quick footsteps coming up the stairs. A fellow agent greeted him before Ray walked to him.  
“Dex !” Ray’s eyes immediately fell on Wilkinson “Jesus..”  
“Ray. I found him, he took a shot to the chest. Didn’t stand a chance.”  
Ray nodded speechless “Looks like it was close range.”  
“Looks like it.” Dex agreed with the observation.  
“You knew him ? I mean..” Ray looked at his friend sympathetic.  
Dex took a breath “Not that well. But enough to know that he wasn’t involved with some criminal shit. Ray.. (y/n)’s door was unlocked when I got here.. she’s not answering her phone when I call.” Dex tilted his head towards your open door. He was struggling to keep his mind clear.

Ray placed his hand on Dex’s shoulder “Alright, stay calm. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” he walked over to get a closer look at Wilkinson before he turned to walk to your apartment. Dex followed close behind him as the homicide squad starting taking photos and tagging the evidence they could find.

“No signs of a break-in.” Ray stated as he checked your door. “She could have forgotten to close her door when she left.”

Dex scoffed, not willing to believe you would just leave your door unlocked in a city like this “Or maybe she saw what happened to Wilkinson.”

Ray gave a nod as he walked into your apartment “No signs of a struggle. Did you check the place ?”

“Do I look like a rookie ?” Dex was getting frustrated.

Suddenly Ray held up his hand like something had pulled his attention.

Dex was alert “What ?”

Ray shushed him before he pulled his gun out. Dex gave a short nod and did the same.

Ray stood against the wall next to the door that would lead to the bathroom. He motioned to Dex that he was going inside.

Dex opened the door for him and Ray stepped inside the bathroom, guns ready.

“FBI !!! SHOW YOURSELF !!” he commanded in a loud voice as his eyes scanned the room.

Dex’s eyes darted around the room, looking for what had pulled Ray’s attention.

The room appeared empty apart from some boxes in a corner, or so it seems.

“Okay ! Okay ! Take it easy !” a voice came from one of the big boxes.

Both Ray and Dex aimed for it, waiting for the person to come out.

Ally opened the box from the inside and raised one hand in the air and threw some of your towels of her head before she raised the other.

Ray immediately lowered his gun when he saw the girl, her eyes red, Dex lowered his as well but stayed alert.

Ally’s eyes darted from Dex to Ray “If you guys are really feds.. can you show me your badge ?”

Ray gave a quick nod as he pulled out his badge and held it up for Ally to see, Ray gave Dex a look and Dex eventually did the same.

“I’m Special Agent Ray Nadeem, I’m guessing you know Dex ?” Ray introduced himself and Ally nodded as she looked at Dex.

Another agent walked into the bathroom rather quickly and asked to speak to Ray.

“Dex, take the girl to the precinct.” he ordered before he went to talk to the other agent.

The agent waited until Ally and Dex had left the place before he spoke “There are two more victims on the ground floor. Apartment shows signs of a break in. One female shot in the chest. One Male, shot in the head, but he was still breathing. They are taking him to the hospital.” Ray sighed at the news “Do we have information on the victims ?”

The agent nodded as he whispered “ David and Claire Smith.”

“Alright, look for a connection between them and Bob Wilkinson. Photos, papers, anything. There’s gotta be a connection. Why else would someone kill all these people ?” Ray felt the mystery getting bigger and he didn’t like it one bit.

“Fun ?” the agent guessed.

Ray had started to walk away but turned when he heard what the agent had said “What ?”

“Maybe there is no connection, Ray. Some people don’t need a reason to do this stuff.” the agent reminded him before walking away.

Ray shook his head at the horrible thought.

 


	22. Reed

Ally’s eyes were distant as she sat opposite Ray. Stripes of her black eyeliner going down her cheeks. **  
**Ray placed a cup of water in front of her, which she ignored. **  
**Dex stood as he watched the girl who was clearly in shock. She was the only link he had to finding you, to understand what had transpired. **  
**Ray gave her some time to calm down before he spoke in a soft tone “Can you tell me your name ?” **  
**She sniffed as she sat motionless on the chair “Ally.” **  
**Dex cleared his throat to pull Ray’s attention “Ray..” **  
**Ray excused himself as he stood up to talk to Dex for a moment. **  
**“That’s Ally. Daughter of the Smith’s on the lower floor.” Dex explained. **  
**Ray shut his eyes as he exhaled when he realised it “The Smith’s who were attacked as well ?” **  
**Dex nodded in confirmation “The woman was her mother. The guy in the hospital is her father.” **  
**“Jesus.” Ray breathed as he wiped a hand over his mouth. He nodded before he sat down again. **  
**“Ally..They have taken your father to the hospital. He was shot, they are operating on him as we speak.” He carefully said. **  
**She nodded as she crossed her arms, holding herself together. **  
**Ray sighed deeply, how was he supposed to inform this girl that her mother was murdered ? **  
**“She’s dead. Isn’t she ? My mother…” her voice tired as she spoke. **  
**Ray and Dex looked at her, their expressions making it clear that she guessed right. **  
**Ally finally looked up at Ray “That’s why you didn’t say she was at the hospital as well, didn’t you ?” **  
**Ray placed his elbows on the table as he leaned towards Ally. “I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine what you must be feeling right now. Do you have someone we could call for you ? A family member ? A friend ?” **  
**Ally nodded “My grandma Nancy….” she swallowed “She and Bob were a thing.” **  
**That even suprised Dex “Bob? As in Wilkinson ?” **  
**“Yes.” Was all she could answer. **  
**“We’ll contact your grandmother. And we will explain what happened to her.” Ray informed her. **  
**Dex wished Ray would hurry up and ask Ally about what happened to you. But he knew pushing Ally to talk could have the opposite effect and the last thing he wanted was for her to shut down now that she was talking. **  
**Ally looked at Ray as a tear fell from her eyes “What did they want with (y/n) ? Where is she ?” Ally’s eyes landed on Dex “Is she…” **  
**Dex interupted her before she would finish the sentence “We don’t know. She is missing.” He took a step closer to the table “You said ‘they’, did you hear something while you were hiding in the bathroom ?” **  
**Ally nodded “I heard them talk. I only saw one guy that looked in the bathroom through the handopenings in the box, probably checking if someone else was there.” **  
**“What did they talk about ?” Ray was quick to ask. **  
**Ally shook her head as she thought “she sounded scared.” **  
**“Who did ? (Y/n) ?” Dex listened to Ally intently. **  
**“Yeah, she was talking to this _Shaw_  guy. Wait…” Ally furrowed her brows. **  
**The name drew Dex’s attention immediately “Shaw ?” he needed to know that he heard that right. **  
**“Isn’t that her ex’s name ?” Ally remembered you had named him once to her.

Dex could only nod, he couldn’t believe it. Shaw had come for you and it was clear that he wouldn’t let anyone stand in his way to get to you. If Ally had not made the decision to hide, Dex doubted that she would be alive now. No one else had escaped Shaw.

Ally looked like she was trying to remember something “Hey..” she put her attention on Dex “Remember when I walked into you two…uh..being  _busy_  ?”

Ray resisted the urge to look at Dex as his eyes slightly widened.

Dex cleared his throat “Yeah. I remember.”

“That envelope I gave her. She told me it was empty. She said it gave her the creeps.” Ally explained.

Ray felt like she was on to something “What are you trying to tell us ?”

“The guy that gave me that envelope, who specifically asked for her that day. He sounded A LOT like that Shaw guy.” a sad look fell over Ally’s face as realisation hit her “I directed him to her apartment..”

“No, Ally. None of this is your fault.” Ray reasured her fearing she would feel guilty.

“So you saw him when he gave you the envelope ? Do you remember what he looked like ?” Dex was getting closer, he could feel it.

She quickly nodded “Hard to forget. He had a strange vibe. Black hair, dressed all fancy and..” she pauzed.

“And what ?” Dex pushed.

“He…had a scar.” she pointed and dragged a finger under her eye “Under his eye.” **  
**Dex breathing became rapid as he felt the pieces of the puzzle fall in place. **  
**“Wait!” She suddenly blurts out “I heard him talk to Bob before..” her voice faded out.

Ray motioned to her that it was okay “Take your time.”

“I heard him say his name was Shaw Reed.”

Ray’s eyes shot to Dex as they both remembered the strange men who came to visit Fisk back at the hotel. Both remembering the one with the scar who had introduced himself as 'Reed’.  
Dex’s hands were itching “Did the guy talk like a slick bastard ?” he directed the question at Ally, ignoring Ray’s attempts to tell him to watch his language.

“He sounded like he could sell garbage to anyone who would listen.” she answered.

Dex scoffed and shook his head, barely managing to contain his rage at this point “He was there, Ray. That son of a bitch was right there in front of us !”

Ray uttered an apology to Ally about Dex’s behaviour before he stood and turned to him “Dex, calm down.”

But Dex couldn’t 'calm down’. The thought that he had shook hands with that asshole, those same hands that had beaten you, was too much.

He paced in the room restless, furious. Feeling like his veines were on fire.

He grabbed a mug from the table and launched it into the wall causing Ally to jump at the unexpected move.

The one that had hurt you so many times, had been right there under his nose.

And now Reed had come for you and he had not been there to protect you.

Where you even still alive ?

Dex saw red, his body shaking as his breathing quickened. The whispers he hadn’t heard in weeks had returned and they were no longer whispers, they were screams.

“Dex ! Dex ! Look at me ! Breath !” Ray grabbed his shoulder and he almost smacked his hand away when Ray shook him back to reality.

Dex tried to breath, tried to focus. But it was hard. Really hard.

“Listen, we have his name now. We’ll run him in the system, see if that gives us an address. We’ll find her, Dex.” Ray tried to reasure his friend.

Dex breathed through his nose as he focused on Ray.

“We’ll find her.” Ray said as he patted him on the shoulder.


	23. Hell

Like someone just turned on the switch again, that’s what it felt like when you woke up. When you did you felt relief, relief that you were alive. Back on the world, but it only lasted for a few moments before the feeling of disorientation wore off. And when your eyes focused on the room you were in, it was enough to jolt you up and back into conciousness.

“Easy there, love. Take your time.” you saw Shaw sitting on a chair in the room at the foot of the bed.

You closed your eyes, hoping all of this was just a horrible dream. Shaw’s voice broke through the silence.

“I was wondering if we had gone a bit overboard with the sedative. I’ve been waiting for you to wake for hours.” he said as he sat in the chair cross-legged, drinking a glass of wine.

“Why the hell did you come back for me ? We both know I hate you.” your voice was still weak from the sedation.

He putted the glass on a nearby dresser “Love and hate cannot exist without one another, dear. The fact that you  _hate_  me also means that you still care.”

You scoffed in disbelieve when you heard him say it.

You gritted your teeth while you glared at him “What happened to your face ? Devil left his mark on you ? Now the outside is starting to match the inside.”  

He looked to the side and you knew your acid remark hit a weak spot in him “Ah yes, Daredevil.” his jaw thightened as he said the name “I have thought about it, I understand why you ran when you had the chance. I admit we had our fair share of problems in our relationship, but you selling me out to Daredevil. That hurt, sweetheart. But I am willing to look past your flaws.”

You wondered how the hell he knew you told Daredevil he was in the armory until Shaw pointed to the small moving camera in the corner of the room.

You were starting to feel sick, he had a security camera in here ? “I thought I knew how awful you were, but it just keeps getting worse.. you make me sick.”

He scoffed before he looked at you “Lord, you have gotten quite the mouth on you, haven’t you ?”

“Pot, kettle.” you snarled.

“Carefull, little dove.” he warned.

Fear and anger were mixed inside you, you were lucky to escape the first time. Trying it a second time would be near impossible.

“Why ? You’ll hit me anyway ! Because that’s who you are Shaw ! You are the kind of guy that makes women afraid of meeting men !” you didn’t hold it in anymore as you spit the words at him.

Shaw was losing his patience fast, his voice was low, controlled “You should be gratefull.”

“Gratefull ?” you scoffed “ For what ? To be here ? To be locked in this prison called hell !”

“You are alive because of what I did to save you !” he almost shouted it at you “For some reason Wilson Fisk wants you dead. I was able to convince him to let me do the job. He told me where you were, if it had been anyone else, you would be dead. Remember that.”

You let out a breath when you processed what he just told you, why would someone like Wilson Fisk want you dead ? Remembering the man that followed you that day you bumped into the devil himself….no. He can’t be telling you the truth.

Shaw was calmer again, but his words were laced with venom “Tell me, little dove. Are you not curious why someone like Wilson Fisk wants you dead ?“

You didn’t answer him.  
"Don’t take this as an insult but, you are nobody, you are nothing. Yet you are somehow important in this grand scheme Fisk has planned. Why is that ? What are you not telling me, love ? ”  
“Really ? That was not supposed to insult me ? ” You scoffed. “Oh right. I forgot, you only speak ‘asshole’ .”  
“Language.” He warned. “Where did you learn to speak this way ? You used to have such good manners before our unfortunate seperation.”  
“How would you know ? You never really cared when I spoke. I’m nothing more then a piece of decoration to you.”  
He eyed you up an down as he spoke “But what a lovely decoration you are.”  
Your stomach turned, you didn’t want him to look at you like that. You didn’t want him thinking about touching you. Those few months had been a nightmare, one you never wanted to live through again.

“Your phone has been rather popular today.“ He says before he pulls out your phone from his pocket.

You looked at your phone in his hands, this was not good. Not good at all.  
"Let’s have a look shall we ?” He unlocks your phone “Landlord, a pizza place.. who is Mister B ?” He was calm but the words were filled with venom and jealousy.  
You bit back the tears at the fresh memory of Bob, on the floor, gasping for air as he bled out.  
Your jaw clenched and Reed now watched your expression waiting for an answer.

“Must I repeat every quest-” he started.

You interupted him “You shot him.” your eyes filled with tears but your words were full of anger.

His eyes fell back to your phone “Oh. Well. That is one number you won’t be needing anymore then.”

He reacted like it meant nothing to him and you were certain that was exactly the case.

He focused on your phone some more and you calmed down a little. The last thing you wanted was to cry in front of him.

You looked up at him and his eyes moved from your phone to you before he spoke as if he would ask a child for an explanation “Who’s 'Dex’ ?”

 

 

O O O O oo o o o o ooo o o o o o o ooo o  oo oo o oo oo oo o o o o o o o oo o   oo ooo o  o o o o o

 

 

Putting Reed’s name in the system had given them an address. Ray put a team together and soon Dex and Ray were on their way to the location. Dex knew they would have to do this low profile, Reed was no small fish in the criminal world, that he was sure of now. That slimey snake had fooled even the FBI. God knows what else this asshole was capable of. Ray sended some of the agents to the back of the house, Dex stuck with Ray as they got ready to breach the place.

Ray moved to the side of the door, gun’s drawn, Dex stood behind the agents breaching the door, ready for anything.

Ray held up his hand, quietly counting down with his fingers before he yelled “BREACH !”

The agents breached the door with the ram.

“FBI !!!” The agents shouted as they swarmed the place.

Soon shouts of agents that said “CLEAR !” could be heard.

Dex searched in every room of that place, every inch of it. All there was to find was furniture covered in sheets.

The place was abandoned, and it had been like this for a while as dust was starting to collect on the sheets.

Dex put his gun in the holster as he let his arms fall besides him. The voices of the other agents didn’t reach him as the voices in his mind had once again started to scream.

You weren’t here.

“Dex..” Ray walked up to him, his face sorrowful. “She’s not here.”

Dex could only nod as he did a few paces and kicked a chair across the room in frustration.

The other agents stared at him until he gave them a look that could send chills down the devil’s spine.

Ray didn’t reprimand him this time “We’ll find her.”

“How ? Ray. How the hell are we going to find her now ! That son of a bitch could be half across the world with her by now ! We have no leads !” he sneered.

Ray understood his friend’s reaction, he was sure he would react the same way if someone harmed his familly.”

They were interrupted when a cellphone went off. Dex’s cellphone.

His brows drew together as he fished the phone out of his pocket.

His couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the name on the screen.

Your name.

 

o o o o o o o oo  o o o o oo o o o o oo o o o oo o   oo  oo o oo oo oo  o o o o oo  ooo o o  oo o

 

You had tried to fool Shaw about how Dex is just your neighbour, but Shaw always was a suspicious/ jealous bastard. You could only sit and watch in horror as he called Dex on your phone.

“(Y/N) ?!” Dex’s voice came through the phone loud enough to even make you hear it across the room.  
“I’m afraid she is unable to come to the phone right now.” Shaw kept his voice professional,  
“Where is she, asshole ?!” Dex’s voice sounded.  
Reed looked at you with interest “Well, this explains the sudden change in her choice of language.”  
“I asked you a question, asshole. Where is she ?! ” Dex demanded again.  
Reed hummed, something he always did when people dared to insult him “Allow me to make something clear to you.  _Dex_. I don’t answer to you. But you will answer me..“ he looked at you as he spoke again "Unless you would enjoy hearing her scream in pain.” His eyes were dark.  
His threat wasn’t empty, they never were. Reed was jealous and it always brought out the worst in him.  
There was silence on the other end of the line.  
“Are we clear on that ?” Reed said in repressed anger.  
“Yes.” Dex finally said.  
“Good. Glad to hear. So tell me, Dex. Who are you ? Or did your parents really just call you  _Dex_  ? ” You knew what Reed was doing. He was trying to find out who exactly Dex was, it would make it easier for him to find and kill Dex if he would pose a problem.  
You prayed Dex wouldn’t answer him, he would never be safe again if he did.  
Reed watched your reactions like a hawk as you tried to keep a blank expression.  
“Well ?” He was getting irritated.  
“Poindexter.” You could hear Dex say and your heart dropped.  
Reed ended the call right after Dex had answered him. The look in his eyes was something you had never seen before, not with Reed. It was gone in a second but impossible to miss.  
Fear.

 

Oo o o o o o oo  oo o o o   o o oo  o o o o oo o  o o o o o o o o  o o o o o o o o oo oo oo

 

Dex gasped for air after the call ended, his worst fear had come reality. You were at the mercy of a madman and he had no idea where he was keeping you. His hands itched, itched to be around Reed’s neck and strangle him.

“Was that him ?” Ray gave him a worried look.

“That was him. He has her, Ray. He threathened to hurt her.” he was breathing so fast yet he felt like no air was getting in his lungs.

“Did he say anything that could help us find her ?” Ray asked.

Dex shook his head “No.”

Ray brushed a hand over his mouth “Alright, we’ll go back to the precinct. Talk to Ally Smith again. Maybe she can remember something from their conversations, something (y/n) might have mentioned to her.”

He didn’t think it was useful, but Ally was the only connection to finding you at this point. So he agreed to go back to talk to Ally with Ray.

 

Oo oo o o o o  oo o oo oo o o  oo o o o o  oo oo o o oo o  o o o oo o o oo oo  o  o o  o ooo  oo oo oo

 

 

“Finally I understand why Fisk wants you dead.” Shaw scoffed “He wants that Poindexter guy and you just somehow managed to get inbetween those plans.” Shaw clenched his jaw in anger.

Fear build inside of you when he told you that Fisk wants Dex for some reason.

“So tell me because I am curious, what is going on between you and this ’ _Dex_ ’ ?” Reed’s words were filled with venom, you had seen him angry many times before but this was worse. He knew there was something going on between you and Dex, he knew and he was burning up his patience for your answer very fast.

You thought of a good answer, a lie he could believe, but the fear in your eyes must have given it away.

“ANSWER ME !” his calm facade fell as he stood from his chair and shouted it at you.

You hated that you automatically started to shake when he shouted at you.

“He’s just my neighbour, he must be upset over the fact that you killed the people in the apartment building. ” you tried to sound like you were telling the truth, knowing that Shaw would skin Dex alive if he knew he was more then a neighbour or friend to you.

He breathed audibly through his nose as he straightened the jacket of his suit. You slid further away on the bed, knowing he could easily snap right now.

He didn’t look at you when he picked up his glass again. He took one sip and in one sudden move he threw the glass in your direction. It shattered on the wall close to you and some of the shards grazed your hair and skin.

You were lucky the glass didn’t touch your eyes as the bed was now covered in glass and wine.

You looked at Shaw in shock.

“DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL ?! Fisk wants you dead because you are the only thing standing in his way to get to Poindexter.” He took a step closer to you, eyes filled with rage.

The door flew open now and two men stood in the doorway “Sir..” their eyes scanned the room, falling on the shattered glass around you and the spilled wine “We heard.. we thought..”  

Shaw composed himself just enough to address them “Did I call for you ?”

The men shifted awkwardly on their feet “No, Sir..”

“I don’t pay you to think. I pay you to follow orders, understand ?” he said through gritted teeth.

The men nodded “Yes, Sir.”

Shaw sighed and looked at you one last time “I will have to undo the damage you have caused. We will talk when I return.”

You heard the lock turn when he walked out of the room.


	24. A Girl With A Plan

He had only just left and you were already discreetly looking around the room trying to figure out a way to escape this place again. The room still looked the same as the day Daredevil had let you go free. **  
**The only way out of the bedroom was the door and the window. **  
**If you could get to the window unnoticed, you would be able to get on the lower roof. If you could find a way off of the roof then… **  
**The only thing you had to do then was cause a distraction to distract the guards. **  
**You focused on yourself, on your clothes, what could you use ? ****

You knew you would have to wait until dark for this to even work at all. Shaw had confiscated your phone, you only had one other thing on you. Your wristwatch. An idea popped in your head, it wasn’t a very solid plan but you didn’t really have another option.

So you waited until dark, and by the looks of it, that wouldn’t be long.

 

O OO O O OO  OO O O   O O O O O O O  OO O O  OO   O O O O O O  O O OO  OO O O  O O

 

Ray and Dex both sat across the table from Ally. Dex hated this, hated how slow this was going. But driving around the city with no plan wasn’t the best idea either. All he could do was hope that this kid knew something.

“I know this must be very hard on you, Ally. And I understand that you would rather be with your grandmother then here but-” Ray started.

“Did you find her ?” Ally sounded hopefull until she saw the look on Dex’s face.

Dex swallowed hard, once again being reminded that he failed to keep you safe. That the danger had been right in front of him and he had missed it.

“What about my dad ?” Ally asked as she hugged her frame.

“He’s still in the ICU, but he is stable. They are keeping him in a induced coma, he’s not in any pain that way. It will help him heal faster.

Ally brought her head to her hands as she processed the info.

Dex was starting to believe that this kid’s childhood wasn’t that different from his own. No parents, or at least close to it. Clearly neglected. He could see why you would feel drawn to help her.

“We ran Reed in the system. It gave us an address but the place was abandoned.” he tried to talk in a soft voice, imitating Ray’s tone even. Hoping it would be enough to get more information out of Ally. “(y/n) once mentioned a house where she lived with this guy. Did she ever share information with you about another house ? Anything at all ?”

Ally’s head was starting to hurt as she tried to remember.

“She told me she lived in a mansion, maybe she lived there with him ?”

“A mansion ? Those were her words ?” new hope grew inside of him.

Ally’s eyes lit up as a memory awoke in her “(y/n) told me about the view from the bedroom, she said that all she could see was a statue of a guy holding a flag.”

Dex eyes widened at the new information “Are you sure that is what she said ?”

“Nothing’s wrong with my memory !” she looked back to Ray “I’m sure. A statue of a guy holding a flag.”

Ray gave a hopefull smile and looked over at Dex “Not many statues like that over here. And not many mansions with the view on one.”

Dex felt himself give a small smile as he was filled with new hope on finding you “You did well, kid.”

“Thanks fed.” she retorted with a smile.

 

Oo o o o o oo o o o o o o o o o oo  o o o o o o o oooo   o oo  o o o o o o o o oo  o o oo o o o  
  


Ray and Dex’s pace was fast as they walked to Hattley to fill her in on the new lead.  
“Tammy, we have a new lead on the case.”  
“That’s good. Fill in Detective Sergeant Mahoney at the police department, they are taking over the case.” Special Agent Hattley brushed it off.  
Ray looked at her confused “What ? Why ?  this is our case.”  
“Not anymore, it’s not a priority to the FBI.”  
“Not a priority ?!” Dex almost snapped at her “How is a double homicide and an abduction not a priority ?!”  
Ray gave him a look that made it clear that he needed to stay calm before he turned his attention back to Hattley “With respect ma'am, Dex is right. And it is at least highly suspicious that this happened at the building where one of our agents lives. And the person missing is Dex’s friend. On top of that the person who was identified as the killer was allowed to speak to Fisk a day before the killings, and if I remember correctly, you were the one that gave permission. Something’s not right here.”  
“Are you insinuating that I had knowledge of Reed’s actions?” her tone was hard. “Was I supposed to know what this guy was hiding ? I did what I was ordered to do from my superiors. Careful, Ray.” Hattley warned him.  
Dex glared at her in anger “So, we’re just letting this guy of the hook, that it ? Guy walks in her like he goddamn owns the place, day after that he commits two murders, failed one and kidnaps (y/n). And you’re telling me it’s not our case anymore ?!”

“For all we know, she could have gone with him voluntarily.” Hattley countered.

He scoffed and turned away before he would do something he couldn’t undo. He’d heard enough.  
“Dex !” He heard Ray call after him as he walked away. If they weren’t going to do something, he would. He’d find you. Then he’d deal with Reed himself.

 

OO O O OO O O OO O OO O O OO O O O O OO O OO  OO O O OO O O O O O  OO OO O O

 

Ally had heard the conversation between Ray, Hattley and Dex as she hid behind a corner. This Hattley-chick didn’t want to be bothered with finding you. Her friend was missing and no one seemed to care apart from the special fed. Ally walked towards the bathroom, knowing that she would pass Agent Nadeem.

And when she was close enough she  _accidentally_  collided with him. As she had collided many times with people before when she got too hungry,

“Sorry.” she said shortly.

Ray barely acknowledged her, probably to deep in thought about the whole situation to be bothered by anything else.

She walked into the bathroom and checked the paper she had  _borrowed_  from Ray’s pocket for a clue on where you could be. She felt like dancing on the spot when she saw an address written on it.

She put the paper in her pocket and used an empty bucket to reach the window in the bathroom before she opened it and climbed through.

While  _borrowing_  the paper, she had  _accidentally_ also  _borrowed_  some money from Ray. She held up her hand as she saw a cab approaching.

She was a girl with a plan.


	25. 13 dollars

The cab stopped a street away from her destination, Ally knew she would have to walk the rest to not seem suspicious. She had stopped on the way there to buy a small box of cookies. When she walked up to the place she could only see a stone wall surrounding the place and a gate. Ally could see a lot of trees and the beginning of a driveway, most likely leading up to the mansion.

She spit out her gum and stuck it to the wall before she walked up to the gate.

“Hey !” she shouted to the guard in the cabin next to the gate.

He looked up from the newspaper he was reading and rolled his eyes when he saw the girl.

He was clearly ignoring her. She walked to the cabin and slammed her fist to the glass to draw his attention.

“What the hell do you want ?” the guard finally said.

Ally held up the box of cookies “Interested ?” she was confident when she asked.

The guy stood up to get a better look through the glass. “Samoas ? Shit. Ain’t it a bit late in the evening for a girl scout to wander the streets ? They really that desperate to raise money or something ?”

She shrugged her shoulders “ Nah, I’m just competitive. So, you buying ?”

The guard seized her up before he gave a nod “Alright. Hang on. I’ll open the gate for a second.”

Ally smirked as she saw the guard fall for her plan. She took a few steps past the gate as she waited for the guard. She knew she had to pay attention now.

“How much are they ?” the guard asked her when he stepped out the cabin holding ten dollar.

“13 dollar.” she said innocently.

“13 dollars ? You’re shitting me ?” he blurted out.

She shrugged her shoulders again “ Maybe we are desperate.” she looked around her and tilted her head to the side “And it looks like this place pays their people well.”

He groaned at her response “Wait here, I’ll see if I got change.” he said and gave her the ten dollar before he stepped in the cabin again.

This was what Ally was waiting for, she placed the cookies down and sneaked into the darkness of the trees where she hid.

Seconds later the guard walked out of the cabin again and looked around in suprise.

“WHAT ABOUT YOUR 3 DOLLARS ?” he shouted as he kept looking around him, not spotting her.

He finally shrugged and picked the box of cookies up “Guess she wasn’t that desperate…”

He walked back into the cabin and locked the gate again as he started to shove a cookie in his mouth.

 

O o o o o ooo o o oo o o o o o o o oo  oo o o o oo  oo o o o oo o  o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

 

The sky had finally turned dark, it was time to get the hell out of this place. You had spend your time watching and memorizing the motion of the camera. Watching when it was recording every spot in the room. You were laying under the blankets now, you had discreetly moved some smaller pillows under the blanket with you. Holding them thightly against your back as you did. You waited until the camera was turning around towards the window before you quickly rolled off the bed under the blanket, moved the pillows so it would resemble a body shape before rolling under the bed. You counted the seconds it would take for the camera to move back and past the bed again. 1..2…3…4…5…6

You hoped you had counted well as you quickly crawled from under the bed shooting the camera a quick glance as you did. You ran to the window and started to open it, you were damn lucky there was no lock on it. But then again, you doubted Shaw would believe that you would crawl through a window to get the hell away from him.

You only had a few seconds left to crawl through the window and onto the lower roof. You had shut the window again and ducked to hide as the camera aimed in your direction again. As you counted for the camera to turn away again you heard a guard walking around closeby, he started to sound closer and you dropped down on your stomach to stay low. He could spot you if you were standing or crouching. While laying down you took of your wristwatch and set the alarm. The guard’s back was turned to you and you sat up a little and threw the watch as far as you could. The sound of the watch hitting the bushes drew the guard’s attention and as he started to walk into that direction to investigate you carefully walked over the roof towards the wooden trellis going down the side of the wall. You got pricked by some roses when you climbed down but managed to make it to the ground unnoticed.

You grabbed a larger branch from the ground in case you would have to fight your way out. You walked in the direction the guard had walked in, knowing that the alarm would go off any second now. And it did.

You sneaked up behind the guard as he had just picked up the watch and shut off the alarm.

He would alarm the others if you didn’t stop him.

You hit him with the branch hard enough to knock him out in one go.

This wasn’t like you, but you sure as hell weren’t going to just let Shaw drag you back to this hellhole without a fight.

You were a bit shocked at what you had just done, when you heard a crunching sound behind you. You spun around, ready to attack.

“Woah shit !” Ally jumped back when you nearly hit her.

You’re eyes widened in disbelieve when you saw the girl “Ally ?!?! What are you doing… how did you-”

“I came looking for you..” she said sheepishly.

You lowered the branch you were holding “Jesus,  Ally…” you shook your head as you took a step closer to her and pulled her into a hug. “You shouldn’t be here, if Shaw sees you here-”

“He killed my mom, shot my dad. I wasn’t going to just let him hurt you too..” she bit back the tears forming in her eyes.

“Oh Ally.. I am so sorry..” you swallowed. This girl was going through hell and she was still out here trying to save you. You could only admire her. “We have to get out of here before they realise I’m gone. How did you get in here ?”

She pointed in a direction “Through the gate. I had to distract the guard. He doesn’t know I am still here.”

You nodded “Alright, gate is not going to work. We’re going to have to climb over the wall if we wanna get out of here. We gotta go now, Ally. Stick close to me alright ?”

She nodded back “Got ya.”

You started to make your way through the trees, searching for the wall.

“(y/n) ?” Ally whispered as she followed you.

“Yeah ?”

“Why didn’t he come for you earlier ? I mean.. he knew where you were didn’t he ?” she asked.

“He knew where I was because Wilson Fisk told him where I was.” you whispered back.

She came to walk a little closer “Fisk ? As in the guy who tried to take control of the city but ended up being a high end crime boss ? The one Daredevil beat up ?”

“Yep. That’s the one.” you informed her and she snorted.

“Why does Fisk know where you live ?” she was confused about that part.

You let out a breath “Fisk must be up to something bad. He wanted me dead because I know Dex. That’s what Shaw told me at least.”

“So you got stuck in this shitstorm. Great.” Ally’s sarcasm was clear.

You let out a low chuckle “We have to warn Dex. Warn the FBI. Warn everyone.”

Ally nodded in agreement.

*BANG* the sound of a gunshot caused Ally to nearly trip over her feet.


	26. No Matter The Cost

You stopped to help Ally when you heard Shaw’s voice.  
“Well well. Look what is hopping between the trees.” He grinned as he stepped closer keeping his gun aimed at Ally.  
“Tsk tsk. You disappoint me, (y/n). Where is your loyality ?” he scolded you. “Climbing out the window like a teenager on her way to her secret lover.”  
You had no idea how to talk yourself out of this one. You looked around for a chance to at least help Ally escape out of Shaw’s grasp.  
He must have noticed you looking “If you do insist however, on running between these trees, you’d do well to remember that I do enjoy the occasional hunt.” He put empathesis on the word.  
Ally whispered lowly “I’m guessing he doesn’t mean bunnies ?”  
You shook your head as a reply.  
Shaw had heard what Ally said as well as he directed his attention on her now “No girl, not bunnies.” He looked back to you “The girl is quite perceptive. It would be tragic if she would end up missing, wouldn’t it ? How broken her parents would be to miss their little girl.” He was clearly threathening her.  
Ally scoffed and took a step forward you had to grab her arm to stop her “You shot them. Remember, Asshole ?”  
Shaw tilted his head and clenched his jaw, something he did whenever someone insulted him “I’m afraid I don’t keep records of the people I kill. And truthfully, I do not care. But that does make it easier for you to disappear.” He walked closer to the both of you.  
“She’s a kid, Shaw !” you tried to reason “I get it, you kill people who get in your way but.. kids, Shaw ? She is no threat to someone like you.”   
His eyes darted between you and Ally before he sighed and motioned the gun in his hand “Walk.”  
You pulled Ally behind you “Shaw, listen..”  
“She’s still breathing, love. If you want it to stay that way, I would suggest doing as you are told. Now walk.” he tilted his head in the direction of the house and you reluctantly pulled Ally along as you walked back to the mansion.

O o o o o oo o oo oo o o o o o o o oo o o o  o o o oo o o  oo o o o o o o o o o o o o o o  o oo

Dex was still fuming over Hattley’s decision as he parked his car. He had returned to Ray only moments after the confrontation with Hattley to get the address of the mansion only to see how Ray desperately searched his pockets when he couldn’t find the note. At this point he wanted to throw everything in his sight but he had remained calm to be able to once again look up the address of the place. Ray had tried to convince him to leave it to Mahoney and his men, Dex wasn’t having any of it. He wasn’t going to stand by and wait while you were in Shaw’s grasp. He scanned the area before he decided that climbing the wall surrounding the place would be the best option. He could take out whoever was behind that wall and have enough cover thanks to the small forest surrounding the place.  
He was as silent as he could be when he moved the large carbage dumpster against the wall. Making sure to place it in a spot where there were trees covering the other side of the wall.   
He climbed the dumpster using it to be able to reach the edge of the wall with his hands. Pulling himself on the edge before he jumped down from it. Dex considered the trees and bushes a lucky break as they were enough to hide him from anyone or any security cameras that might be in the area. His hand taking his gun from the holster, he clicked the safety off right away. Reed had no intention of leaving anyone alive whom he crossed paths with. And Dex wasn’t going to treat Reed any different. He kept low as he moved towards the cabin housing the security guard next to the gate. He considered his options, knowing that if he would use his gun now, it would alert every asshole in the place and he couldn’t risk Reed getting away again. He hid at the side and knocked on the door of the cabin, and as the door opened the guard walked out.   
The guard looked around him before he pulled out his weapon “Show yourself !”  
Dex waited until he turned in the right direction before he sneaked up to the guard and put the gun against his head “Drop it.” his voice was low and threathening.  
“Alright, alright, take it easy.” the guard let the gun fall from his hands as he held his hands up.  
“Smart move.” Dex noted before he grabbed the guard in a headlock. The guard tried to get away by swinging his elbows backwards trying to hit him and trying to move his body forward. Dex held him back, making sure the guard couldn’t hunch over to try and escape. Seconds later the guard failed to keep himself upright and soon lost conciousness.  
Dex grabbed the gun the guard had dropped and walked into the cabin to grab anything that could be of use. After a quick look in the cabin he dragged the security guard into the bushes to hide him from any other guards that walked around the place.  
He heard voices coming in his direction and hid again.  
Two guards walked by, light shinned close to him as they scanned the area with their torches.  
One of the guards whistled to the other when he noticed the absence of the guard who was supposed to be guarding the gate. Shit.  
The first guard walked in the cabin to inspect the place and before the second could follow him, Dex whistled.   
The guard turned on his heels when he heard it, seconds later he was struck in the head with a heavy tape dispenser. The metal left a cut on his face as he hit the ground.   
The sound of the other falling alerted the first guard who came out of the cabin again. He saw his partner on the ground and reached for his gun and as he tried to alert the others, Dex whistled again.   
The guard turned around and his eyes widened when he saw Dex standing there, he opened his mouth to speak but was cut short when a pair of scissors landed in his throat. The guard grasped his throat as he started to choke on his own blood.   
Dex walked up to him and kneeled next to the guard “Is (y/n) here ?” he asked it without emotion. His expression cold as the man suffered in front of him.   
The guard nodded in fear.  
Dex pulled the scissors from the guard’s throat in one swift move and blood was now gushing out of the wound. He knew the guard would not survive now and he didn’t give a damn.  
Dex grabbed the walkie talkie as the guard bled out. Now he would be able to hear what was going on in this place.   
Soon a voice came through “Team 5, report.”  
“South area is clear.” Dex replied shortly.  
“Alrigh Team 5, return to base.” the voice replied.  
“Copy that.” Dex grinned as his plan worked.   
He sticked close to the stones of the driveway as he sneaked along the trees. The darkness and trees gave him perfect cover.   
Dex walked a short distance before he noticed something on the ground. He looked around him before reaching down. His fingers carefully touching the grass, before he brought them closer to his face to see what it was.   
Blood. It was still fresh.  
His hand balled into a fist as he fought away the rage invading his mind. What if he was too late ? What if you had tried to escape and Reed had killed you ?  
This would no longer be a rescue mission, this would be his road to vengeance.  
Dex didn’t want to submit to the feeling growing inside of him, the pain, the blind rage. He had to find you, he needed the light you brought to him. Or soon he would succumb to his darkest thoughts that had haunted him for years.   
Other voices were coming closer again and Dex pulled some pencils out of his jacket.  
This would either end in light or end in darkness for him, but he would not stop until he found you. No matter the cost.

 


	27. Horror Movie Cliche

The color had drained from Ally’s face as you were guided back to the house under gunpoint. You never wanted her to be in danger, and now she was here with you because she had wanted to save you. The guard you had knocked out outside was concious again, some blood still dripping from the side of his head as he walked in the mansion giving you a deathly glare. Another guard walked up “Sir, we weren’t able to get into contact with some of the guards outside.”

Shaw looked at him like he couldn’t believe how dumb the guard sounded “And why are you not out there checking the grounds ? Go find them ! And they better have a good reason to ingnore their duties.” he threathened and the guard nodded nervously.

“Yes, Sir.” he quickly said before taking some other guards with him outside.

As Shaw commanded the guards to search for the others, you realised there was an opportunity. As the guards walked away, Shaw’s attention wasn’t on you or Ally for a moment. You looked at Ally and hoped you had drawn her attention. You kept starring at her nonstop until she looked at you confused. You let your eyes fall on a small glass vase on a little hall table before you gave a short discreet nod in it’s direction. Ally’s eyes followed where you had looked and it seemed to click. She waited until she had the chance to grab the little vase and hid it behind her back before she carefully passed it to you. ****

You knew the risk you were taking, but you also figured that Shaw’s plan for Ally would not be one with a good ending. You also knew you had to get the hell out of here if you were going to try and warn Dex about whatever it was that Fisk had planned.

The bleeding guard walked up to Shaw again, who turned to him, his back facing you “Sir, they’ve found-”

You smashed the small glass vase against Shaw’s head, close to his neck. Glass flew everywhere as it hit him.

“FUCK !!” he covered his face with his hands. You didn’t wait for a reaction as you grabbed Ally and pulled her along as you ran.

You hear the gunshot at the same time as the bullet struck a wooden doorframe above your head.

You yelped but continued to run.

“Hold your fire you fucking idiot !!!” you heard Shaw shout as they ran after the two of you.

Ally continued to run with you as you made your way to the basement door. You were lucky that you knew the layout of the place.

You opened the door “In here, hurry !” you held the door open for Ally before you locked it.

You looked around the place for something to block the door with.

“Over here, the dryer !” you pulled the plug out of the socket before you moved the machine in front of the door with Ally.

When you ran to the basement, it suprised you that you didn’t run into any guards along the way. It was unusual as there would always be guards around in the past.

“That won’t keep them out long..” you stated.

Ally looked around the place “We’re stuck in the basement. This is the worst horror movie decision you could ever make. AND THIS IS NOT A MOVIE THIS IS REAL !” she was starting to freak out.

You walked past her and then her eyes fell on the small window leading to the outside again.

“Horror movie cliche all the way it is.” the more scared she was the more sarcastic she became somehow.

They were trying to break through the door now and you opened the small window. It creaked from all the rust when it opened.

“You first, I’ll help you up.” You told her.

“But-” she objected.

You gave her a push to get her close to the window “Now Ally !”

She groaned and you helped her climb through before you took a small jump and started crawling through it as well.

“What do we do now ?” Ally asked and you grab her by the hand and just started running.

You heard gunshots coming from the building, it startled you when you heard the first shot.

“Why are they shooting ?” Ally stammered.

“I don’t know. Maybe they are trying to shoot out the lock from the door.” you whispered as you pulled her along and sneaked through the bushes towards the wall.

“Fat lot of good that will do once they realise there’s a dryer blocking it.” Ally smirked at the idea.

You heard fast steps coming in your direction, this wasn’t good.

“Run.” you whispered to Ally as you started running again and she followed behind.

“STOP !” you heard Shaw shout in your direction but you didn’t stop, hoping the trees would provide cover. You glanced over your shoulder once and watched in horror as he aimed in Ally’s direction. There was not enough to cover you against a well aimed shot.

All you could think was “Not her.” before you pushed her out of harm’s way.

* BANG *

Ally let out a short scream as she fell to the ground. She believed she had been hit by the bullet, but it wasn’t her. First you felt nothing, and for a moment you believed the bullet had missed you. But then the burning started, like someone was poking you with a boiling hot metal stick. Your hand touched your side, wet. The blood was coming fast and you collapsed to the ground.

Ally’s voice was frantic but you couldn’t make out what she was saying. Shaw said something unperceivable to your ears.

* BANG *

Another gunshot and you heard someone fall to the ground.

“no..” you whimpered.

Sounds seemed to fade out, your vision rapidly darkened until you couldn’t see anymore. You didn’t know what was worse, the pain or the strange coldness that seemed to slowly take over your body. **  
**You failed to save Ally. **  
**The last thing you were aware of was someone touching you, a voice you could barely hear but not understand. Like they were far away from you instead of close. **  
**You were pulled into the darkness. **  
  
  
  
**O o o o o oo ooo oo ooo o oo o oooo oo o ooo o o o  oO O oO Oo o oO **  
  
  
**Dex was frantic as he held you in his arms, trying desperatly to keep you awake. Ally stood a few steps away as she sobbed. **  
**He had heard you run, but he didn’t make it in time to prevent Reed from shooting you. His eyes could only watch on in horror as you catched the bullet to protect the kid. He shot Reed only a second later before he ran to you.

He brushed the hair from your face as he kept the pressure on the wound. You would bleed out soon if he didn’t get you to the hospital.

Dex looked over to Ally “Give me your scarf, take my phone, call 911 !” he commanded.

Ally seemed frozen as she watched on.

“NOW !” he snapped her out of her trance.

She quickly removed her scarf and grabbed the phone, dailing 911.

Dex used the scarf to try and stop you from bleeding out, it only worked a little. **  
**Others approached, guns drawn. They didn’t look happy considering he just killed a bunch of their buddies.. and their employer. ****

He was close to snapping, the person he loved was bleeding out in his arms and these assholes thought it would be a good idea to show up.

He reached for his gun but didn’t get the chance to shoot them.

“FBI !!! DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD !!! NOW!!” Dex raised a brow when he recognized the voice shouting the commands.

“HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD !!!” Ray shouted once more, causing the guards to drop their weapons as other agents grabbed them.

“Jesus… MEDIC NOW!” Ray walked over to Dex and started to help him.

“He shot her..” Dex almost failed to form the sentence.

Ray nodded “Stay calm. We’ll get her to the hospital. Dex ?”

Dex looked at Ray and nodded.

Ray looked at Ally worried “ Are you okay ?”

“ Yeah, yeah. Is she gonna be okay ?” Ally took a few paces towards them before she took another step back. Her face painted with shock.

Dex couldn’t answer that question, mostly because he didn’t want to think about you not being okay.


	28. Secrets To Keep

Dex sat in the emergency room, waiting for news. He didn’t know how long he had been there, minutes, hours..

It felt like days. Like eternity. But at the seem time it felt like time had stopped to exist. The voices screaming in his head, whispers crawled their way through the screams. He held his head in his hands as he tried to breath.

A voice broke through his train of thought. He looked up for only a second to see that Ally stood there, next to her an older woman.

Ally said something to to woman before she walked up to Dex and plopped down in the chair next to him.

“Any news yet ?” she sounded as tired as he was.

He just shook his head.

“Grandma brought me here. The FBI wants to talk to me again about what happened.” Ally tried to get a conversation.

“Just tell them what you know. It will be fine, kid.” he told her.

“I wanted to help her.. looks like I ended up being the one to get her killed.” Ally looked down at her feet.

Dex looked at her now “She’s not dead.” not yet, he thought to himself “And you didn’t cause this, kid. Reed shot her. (y/n) just..”

“Yeah… she always helps everyone.” she said quietly “She was trying to escape when I bumped into her. She told me something.. something involving you.”

Dex looked at her with interest “What did she say ?”

“She said Wilson Fisk told Reed where she was, Fisk wanted her dead because she knows you.” Ally explained.

Dex looked away from her as he processed the new information. Fisk had tried to twist his mind, tried to get him to believe that society would never accept someone like him. He didn’t believe one word of the bullshit he was trying to sell him, in the past he might have but since meeting you he was more confident. Fisk must have found out about your existence, must have seen you as a block in his plans.

“She said that ?” Dex asked Ally for confirmation.

Ally nodded “ What does Fisk want with you ?”

Dex didn’t answer as he stood up from the chair, ignoring her question “Will you and your grandmother stay here ? I’ll be back soon.”

Ally looked at him suspiciously “Yeah.. but.. what are you going to do ?”

“Just.. stay. Please ? ” he kept his voice in control “And uh… let’s keep this information between us, alright ?”

“Okay..” Ally watched him walk away, unaware of his intentions.

 

O o o o o oo OOO Oooo o o o o o oo ooo OO oo o oOO OoO O O Oo O O oOO O oo

 

Light made it’s way to your eyes when you opened them and you groaned at the sight, you already felt dizzy.

Ally jumped up from the chair and placed her hands on your arm excitedly “Oh my god ! I thought you were dead.”

You couldn’t believe Ally was alive, you wondered if you had died.

“But… Shaw.. he shot you..” your head was hurting with questions.

She quickly shook her head “No ! No, the fed shot that asshole. He’s dead.”

“DEX?!” you asked in shock not knowing how to interprent that.

“What ? OH NO I MEAN SHAW. Shaw is dead. Dex shot him. He saved us, well the FBI showed up as well because I borrowed some stuff from that Nadeem guy and guess he was salty..” she trailed off.

“Borrowed, huh ?” you picked up on that “ You stole from a federal agent ?”

She shrugged her shoulders “At least it got their attention. And maybe they figured that I would try and help you. Could be why they showed up.”

You tried to sit up in the bed but winced in pain when you did “Ah shit.” your hand went to your side.

“Oh yeah. And you got shot.” she stated the obvious.

“Gross.” you said and she let out a laugh.

“It looked worse with all the blood though. The fed almost lost it, he prevented you from bleeding out.” Ally sat down on the side of the bed now. “I thought you were going to die. So did he. He doesn’t know you’re awake yet. He left a while ago. I thought he’d be back by morning but..”

You couldn’t imagine what Dex must have been through when he found you bleeding out on the ground. He had saved you, you would have bled out without him.

“I’m sure he’ll be here soon, looks like he’s pretty in love with you.” Ally tried to lift your spirits.

You nodded and gave a small smile “You said your dad was shot ? Did he…” you left the question open.

She shook her head “No. He uh.. he woke up. The doctor’s say that it’ll be a while before he will be back to normal. I’m staying with my grandma Nancy in the meantime.”

Your eyes widened “Nancy is your grandmother ? Bob… damnit.. Shaw destroyed everything.”

“Not everything.” Ally corrected you and you took her hand, giving it a squeeze.

A knock on the door made Ally jump of the bed, before someone would enter.

Your heart skipped a beat when you saw who it was. Even in his tired state he still stole your heart.

“Dex !” you smiled brightly. He seemed amazed that you were awake, or alive even.

He took two big paces and he was by your side “(y/n) ! You scared the hell out of me.” his hand cupped your cheek before he placed a kiss on your forehead.

“Well, in case you need me.” Ally pointed to the door “I’ll be outside.” she said as she walked to the door.

“I thought…” Dex pinched the bridge of his nose as he took a deep breath “I thought I was too late..”

You shook your head as you grabbed hold of his hand and brushed your thumb over it “None of this was your fault, Dex. On the contrary you and Ally… you saved me. I thought I wasn’t going to survive this time. That Shaw would have dragged me to the other side of the world, that the nightmare would start all over again..”

“I’d never let that happen. I would never let him get away. Even if it took me all my life.” he was serious as he said it “Besides, you’re the only one who has the recipe to those waffles.”

You breathed and laughed lightly at his comment “Yeah. I’m still taking that to my grave, Dex.”

He nodded “I know. But not anytime soon.”

You knew you still had to tell him what Shaw had told you “Dex.. he told me something while I was with him in the house.”

Dex raised a brow as he waited for you to speak.

“He told me Wilson Fisk wanted me dead, that me being alive and around you was a torn in Fisk’s plan. I’ve only heard Shaw mention Fisk once before.. he did some dirty work for him. Why is Fisk doing this ?”

Dex avoided your eyes, suddenly becoming nervous “He..uh.. he tried to make me believe things.”

“What kind of things ?” you pressed the question.

Dex shook his head as he took hold of your hand with his own “He wanted me to believe that society would never accept someone like me.”

You let out a breath, he looked so tired “He’s wrong, Dex. I know you, I know that there is so much more to you then what you believe. You told me I was special to you.” he looked at you now “But you are special to me too.” you smiled at him.

He let out a soft chuckle, his features softening “You don’t have to be afraid anymore. He’ll never hurt you or threaten you again.”

You were confused now, had the FBI found out about Fisk’s plans already ? Had they moved him back to prison ? “Did Ally tell you this already ? Does this mean Fisk is back in prison ?”

He avoided your gaze again and this time you took note of it “He was found dead this morning. You’re safe now.”

The way he said it, cold, emotionless.. you knew.

“Dead ?” you repeated his words.

He gave a nod “They found him in the penthouse. They have no leads, but a guy like that had many enemies.”

You just nodded.

You knew.

“When did it happen ?” you asked.

“Couple of hours ago.” he answered and looked at you.

He knew that you knew.

You squeezed his hand “Guess the city, or even the world is now safer without him or Shaw in it.”

Dex smiled for a second before he cleared his throat “The FBI still wants to take your statement about Shaw. Ally’s too.”

“I’ll make sure to help her remember the important things.” you told him, hinting at the fact that you sure ass hell weren’t going to sell him out.

“She’s a smart kid.” He said with a smirk.

“Was that a compliment ? I should tell her that.” you joked and he almost rolled his eyes.

He chuckles “Smart apart from the fact that she stole from Ray.”

“Well, technically that does make her smart. She was able to borrow things out of his pocket unnoticed.” your voice was sarcastic.

He smirked at you “Since when do you support thieves ?” a playfull glint in his eyes.

“Since they save my life.” you shrugged your shoulders and giggled. “Sometimes we have to do something bad, sometimes it’s the only option to stay safe. As long as we don’t start to see it as the only way, there is still hope.” your words were heavy, Dex must have understood way you had said it as he nodded in agreement. “I won’t give up on you. I see the good in you.”

His eyes were soft and for a moment he looked so peacefull. He leaned closer to you and his lips brushed against yours.

“I love you.” it was as if the words had escaped him, as if they were hanging on his lips ready to be spoken. There was still uncertainty in his eyes when he looked at you.

You could only smile brightly “I love you too.”


End file.
